


Origins Unlocked

by Gamergeek2000



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom
Genre: Action, Blood and Gore, Building the CP mansion, Complications, Creepypasta, Cussing, Family is getting together!, Gen, M/M, Slender is a good CP, Slight Drama, Soooo many characters, Tags May Change, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:02:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 86,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24492445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamergeek2000/pseuds/Gamergeek2000
Summary: Slenderman is seen as the Leader of CPs, and for good reason. He's come to find that it's time to find others like himself to provide fore, the human world is cruel and the survivors are the proof of that. This is the start of the Creepypastas.(To start, remember the “killer Instinct” is a theory I made up long ago when I was first into CP’s, Killer instinct is NOT canon. But I will try to remain as accurate to the CP’s behaviors, ages, heights, and all that such. This is my interpretation of how the CP’s began, I hope you all enjoy it for the heart of what it is. Before anyone freaks out! Yes not all ages and dates will be accurate BECAUSE there are only estimated ages and dates of the CP’s being created. Like Jeff’s story was created 2011, so I’m making it that Jeff was found earlier and someone shared his story later. So please bear with me and just enjoy the heart of what it is)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 61





	1. Wake up

Fables and stories of heroes are not always true, they do not always win, but they always teach you something. What civilization tends to see as villains, do not look into their stories at all, only rare chances someone stops to consider both sides. There is a particular group that has taught more than most about reality, the Creepypastas. They have thrived for years, yet so many do not know their stories or know of them. Those that do know of them, can twist and misinterpret their stories, but only the leader of the group knows all of them by heart. Betrayal, depression, fear, lies, and many lessons within each damaged character. Why talk about this? To share, that these “monsters” are just reflections of the scum that we know as humanity.

The night was brisk, dark, and fog shrouded the forest; these woods have been masked for years with no survivors that enter into them. Those that have survived were by chance and unfortunately, one day someone did live, sending Slenderman into a fit of concern. If one made it out, more would come to see, and his display of dismembered people around the forest would not help as warnings. He needed to expand his home, but not just for his sake, for the sake of others who had suffered just like him. The creatures that have given him a second chance have roamed the world for years as different legends and spirits, they were known as the Council to him.

A proposition was to be made today, and in the heart of the forest where a pentagram was burned into the ground, Slenderman waited alongside with Zalgo. Zalgo is a demon, to which Slenderman had challenged once but the two called it a draw. In comparison to the demon however, Slender did not care about power; he cared about sanctuary, a place where he and others like him can be safe. Of course, Slender is still required to lure children in to devour their souls, just as Zalgo makes deals to humans to get his fill. 

“Zalgo, it has been a while.” Slenderman called telepathically, he had no mouth unless he tore his skin open to reveal it. Although, it would take a while for his skin to stitch itself together.

“Not long enough.” Zalgo snarled back. “What is this plan of yours and why does it involve me?”

“Trust me on this Zalgo, this includes both of us.” Slender replied not even turning to the demon.

“The last time you said trust me it was, and I quote.. “Trust me you’ll never forget me once I rip your head off,” end quote.” Zalgo hissed back, crossing his arms.

“I was having a bad day.” Slender defended, tidying up his suit and fixing his tie.

“Also, what’s with the fucking suit? What happened to the jacket you had?” Zalgo huffed, steam rolling out of his many mouths on his dark figure.

“Just the same reason you are wearing a cape, because I want to make an impression on the Council.” Slender retorted, turning his head to Zalgo.

Zalgo said nothing but a grumble passed his lips. The two may have been alive for a couple years, it being 2007 now, but their relationship was a little sour. Slowly the pentagram began to glow a dark red and the two stood still as their scenery changed to a large council room, with the Council members sitting around them. One, who was famously known as the demon Samuel, with a long dark cloak covering everything but his piercing yellow eyes.

“Slenderman, you said you have a proposition for us?” The demon's voice rumbled.

“I do Council.” Slender nodded. “This could benefit everyone if it is done correctly. Even Zalgo can assist.”

“Hey I did not-” Zalgo began to protest.

“And it will benefit you Zalgo.” Slender added. “Please, allow me and Zalgo to take in people that have been betrayed and forgotten like us. If we can keep killers and lost souls perhaps they could be of some use to the Council as well.”

“Wait, you want to take care of a bunch of killers?” Zalgo snapped. “And you want me to join you in this?”

“Zalgo has a point, what will having damned souls be good for?” Samuel questioned, sitting back and tapping his fingers together.

“If we were to save the souls of people like us then they could help protect what we own.” Slender elaborated, his hands gesturing to the other members. “As a trade, any soul we save and keep protected will kill people and when they do, souls will be given to the Council as a feast.”

“What you’re saying is you want to host a place for a bunch of killers and mentally unstable people. And whatever humans they kill, their souls will be given to us.” Samuel concluded. “Such an idea is not impossible, but it will not be easy. You’re talking about making creatures and killers immortal just to play house with them.”

“Besides-” Zalgo cut in. “Most of them will be defiant, I have my castle and I’m happy with that, I don’t need a bunch of shit heads wrecking my home!”

“I never said this was easy, but there are others that could be saved like we were.” Slender grumbled to Zalgo.

“You wish to..save souls?” Samuel’s voice resonated with confusion. “What makes you think you can rally together a bunch of killers?”

“The same way you did sir.” Slender said calmly. “All the council members here are safe and you all work together to live. Can I not do the same thing? Or even Zalgo?”

Murmurs broke out through the Council and Zalgo muttered to Slender. “Nice going..with any luck maybe they won’t be pissed.”

Slender grew nervous, wondering if maybe he pushed his boundaries, but he relaxed as Samuel nodded and looked to the two. “What are your conditions?”

“I will teach them in my own manner, when they are ready to work together or at least work for me then they will be official. After they are immortal, any person they kill, the souls will be collected here, unless per say one needs to feed off them like me.” Slender explained, looking at everyone.

“Oh fuck no, I’m not joining this.” Zalgo hissed and crossed his arms. “Count me out.”

“Zalgo, some of the killers may have more demonic abilities that will be too dangerous.” Slender encouraged. “They would be better under your care.”

“Well until that happens, leave me out of this.” He snarled back. “End of conversation.”

Slender sighed and turned back to Samuel. “So..your thoughts?”

“That small house will not be enough room.” Samuel commented. “Let us help create something else there. As far as your plan..we agree, but! Our order still remains supreme, I suggest you do not tell any of your guests about us.”

“Why would that be?” Slender questioned with his head tilting slightly.

“If they were to find out you were taking orders from another they may revolt. It has been proven many times in human history and demonic history, it can happen to..what are you planning on calling your group?”

“Lately there has been a collection of phenomena, humans claiming to see ghosts or killers and surviving. The humans have called us legends by..Creepypasta’s.” Slender explained. “Or CP’s.”

“Creepypastas? Are humans always this dumb?” Zalgo sneered, smirking at Slender.

“It means a tangle of unexplained anomalies and supernatural occurrences.” Slender huffed in return. “They have already made a story page about me.”

“Very well.” Samuel responded. “Head back down to your homes, and Slender, we will be discussing your living arrangements tomorrow.”

As he finished his sentence the pentagram lit up and the two were back in the cold forest, Zalgo grumbling as he stepped off and turned to look at Slender with his arms stretched out. “You could have warned me ahead of time! I wouldn’t have shown up!”

“Zalgo it was essential you were there!” Slender replied, stepping off the pentagram. “If I told you what I was planning I knew you would have skipped out.”

“For good reason! Slender my castle is my home, my peaceful place of fire and death.” Zalgo groaned. “And I don’t need killers down there ruining that!”

“Think about it this way, you would be building your own civilization down there.” Slender explained. “Other demons, you wouldn’t be alone.”

“I’m not like you Slender, I don’t need companions.” Zalgo glared at him. “If you find a demon killer, then come talk to me.”

With that, the demon turned away and his cape fluttered behind him, making a bright red portal in front of him before stepping through. Slender shook his head a little at the demon's arrogance, but turned away to walk home. His home was nothing great, it was a run down shack that was probably abandoned before he was even created, but when he was saved by the Council the forest became his own playground of chasing. Slender didn’t know much about the Council, other than they were more powerful and that they had made creatures like him before. As the stars lit up the sky the next night he was greeted by Samuel and curiosity got the best of Slender as they walked the perimeter of his home. “Sir, why did you save me?”

“You were valuable. Smart especially, and now that you want to host more of your kind we know we were right to save you. As a human, you were ignorant and that ignorance led you to your fate, but the Council saw a man that was willing to do anything for the right reasons.” Samuel replied with a low rumble in his voice.

“I see..is there anyone with doubts?” 

“A few, only because they do not think you can handle the pressure of watching more than 10 killers. Depending on who you want to save, you might be dealing with several killers at different ages.” Samuel responded. “You did not elaborate on the kind of people you are looking for.”

“Those that can’t be explained.” Slender replied. “People that are similar to me. Ghosts, people claimed dangerous or dead.”

“Slender, when we saved you, we specifically made your brothers so you would not get lonely. How similar are you expecting?”

“Not physically sir. People who have suffered like me, whether from their own fault or humanity's fault.” 

“Finding the supernatural is not easy Slender. But that’s why I’m giving you this.” Samuel said, stopping in his tracks as a black, clawed hand came out from his cloak and handed Slender a book. “This is an ancient book, one of many spells and enhancements. You should at least learn the one that helps you track any supernatural entities.”

“Thank you, but it is not just the supernatural, it’s the miraculous ones..I can’t explain it.” Slender replied as he took the book. “But I will study this.”

“Good..I am eager to see who you bring.” Samuel said then looked to the shack. “Forget this place, come on, let’s find something deeper in the woods.”

“Uh? Sir, I don’t believe I need a lot of rooms for this.” Slender said, following the Council member as he went deeper into the woods.

“Slender, trust me on this, there are more miraculous people in this world than you can imagine. Besides, I don’t want you all to be in a rundown house.” Samuel replied before stopping at a large clearing. “This is more like it.”

Slender watched as a sickly yellow color emanated from Samuel’s claws and as he threw the yellow smoke to the ground. Roots in the earth began to tear as the ground shook, and the smoke began to collect and materialize into a larger cloud. As the yellow faded from the ground up, a mansion took the place of the cloud and Slender was left in awe. The mansion was a beautiful wooden structure that stretched out into the woods, but somehow still stayed concealed in the fog. The two stepped inside as Samuel began to describe the place.

“This place has 4 floors, modern detail yet rustic charm, over one hundred bedrooms and of course necessities such as bathrooms and living space.” 

Slender found a light switch and flicked it on, looking at the living room that was already furnished. “This is amazing Samuel. But how did you do the plumbing and electricity?”

“Slender this place will be powered by you. The more souls you collect the more this house will reflect reality.” Samuel replied. “Come on, we’re creatures and monsters of the night we don’t need to pay for this stuff.”

“So this whole mansion is based on your magic?” Slender concluded. “This is incredible..”

“Yes indeed. And of course you’ll have to get food for your guests, that’s one thing I won’t be able to materialize for you. But you have a fridge, dining room, electricity. At this point, that is all your responsibility. I’ll give you thirty days until I stop supplying my magic here, you have until then to get the souls needed to keep this place.”

“How many souls will I have to collect? And what will I do with them all?” Slender asked.

“Here, I’ll show you.” Samuel replied and began to walk down the hall, going to an offset door that was under the grand staircase. “This is the room that I’ve made as your room and office.”

Slender stepped in and was surprised by how big the room was, the office was already set up and he opened the side door to see his room which only had a bed and the rest left up to him. “I give the souls here?”

“Right here to be exact.” Samuel said as he moved to the chair that was at the desk, scooting the chair aside where a pentagram was carved into the wood. “When you sit here, you must learn how to give the souls to the mansion, the souls will be taken from you to keep the mansion at it’s normal illusion. You will be able to feel the house’s energy, when the house is weak you’ll feel it. You must be able to have enough souls to keep you and the mansion alive.”

“Understood. Thank you Samuel. This is more than I was expecting. If you do not mind though, I need to start reading.”

Samuel bows to him. “Of course. If you require anything else, you know where to find me.”

Slender nodded and Samuel vanished from the room. Taking a seat on the chair, Slender relaxing in with the book he began to flip through it. There were many spells like Samuel said, but none that Slender would require at this time, he first had to find the one to help him track the killers he was looking for.

The days rolled by, and the only time that Slender didn’t read the book was when he had to collect souls or stop intruders in the forest. By the time a full week passed Slender had learned what he needed from the book, now it was just preparing for his company, the sad part was..he didn’t have money or a physical form to take to get the food. Feeling a little lost about what to do he skimmed through the book again, his powers would only allow him to contort someone's mind for a few seconds, so he needed a physical body. As he walked out to the pentagram he stood on it and called out. “Samuel, may I speak to you?”

Within a few seconds the demon shifted and appeared in front of Slender on the pentagram. “Slender, what is it?”

“I was curious if there was another book you had to help me with a physical appearance.” Slender questioned.

“Hmm..perhaps this will help.” Samuel replied, a scroll materializing in his hand and handing it to Slender. “Read this, this is a spell that can alter your appearance for a short time.”

“How short?” Slender asked as he took the scroll.

“I think it's two hours.” Samuel replied. “Good luck.”

Slender wasn’t really happy with that answer, but said nothing as the demon vanished. He began to look through the scroll while doing his perimeter check of his forest, and as he feared the spell did only last two hours. It would not be long enough to do all the shopping in one day, but if he was careful with how much energy he used he could acclimate to the strain. After getting some food he would need someone else to help, no he needed..apprentices. A tendril brought the book closer as he flipped through the pages and found what he wanted. 

His powers allowed him to make people go mad or disoriented, but now it was time to enhance that with a form of control. If it was done correctly he could have proxies, but only if the host was strong enough to not kill themselves before he could mark them as a proxy. This was going to be a long night..

The days seemed to go by faster than planned, although he did get food and other necessities for the CP’s to come, he was struggling with the proxy situation. Every candidate Slender believed to be strong would only kill themselves a few days after their encounter with him and with the end of the month approaching he was getting worried about collecting souls for the mansion. As if by some miracle though, a group of young adults came into the forest, with cameras and talking about him. He stayed behind the trees, watching and listening to them.

“You think we’ll find anything? We’ve been wandering for a while.” One said, wearing a black jacket over a yellow hoodie.

“We might not, but everyone dies at night.” the other said holding a camera, with a cap on his head and his eyes sunken from exhaustion.

“Oh yeah that makes me feel better..” One sarcastically remarked, wearing a blue and black striped coat. “But he does have a point, anyone that’s seen Slenderman has always been at night and only one person escaped by what we’ve heard. We should keep looking.”

This was intriguing to say the least, not just because they were searching for him, but also because they did not seem afraid. They would be good proxies, but he would need more than just a few young adults. He knew the next few weeks would be hell..

...Annnnnd he was right. Stalking the kids was a nightmare and not in the way most people would think. He had to be extremely careful not to get caught on camera and also they were very strong willed and took him a couple days to even get them paranoid. He managed to make one of them, Brian, caved into his commands but the others took more time.

By the time Slender even managed to get three as his proxies he knew he needed more help. However, after they had lost everything Slender had brought them to the mansion to explain their new lives. To which was either serving under Slender or dying. They protested, especially Tim, but the three knew they didn’t have much of a choice. Slender lowered his head, three tendrils coming from his back and wrapping around each of their wrists as the proxy symbol was burned into their wrists before disappearing moments later. “As my proxies you will serve me and help with anything I need. Along with killing anyone who tries to enter the forest.”

“Anyone?” Hoodie clarified, pulling the hood over his head.

“Anyone.” Slender nodded, the tendrils retracting. “If you also find signs of unnatural killers or supernatural entities keep watch on them.”

Skully nodded and took out his camera. “Why did you choose us?”

“You three are different.” Slender answered simply. “Now, get going. I will show you your rooms when we get closer to sunrise.”

They nodded, Masky grumbling as they left. Masky would be a harder one to control, that much was easy to tell, but with the other two here maybe they can wear him down. Slender began to look around the mansion again, making sure everything was in place for any guests, once checking everything he teleported out to go and hunt for souls. The stress Slender was feeling for days was easing off his back but he still needed more than this to prove his cause to the Council. For the time being, he had to use the spell he got from Samuel to get to the store for the boys, and thought along the way of what to do.

By the time the sun was an hour away from rising, the three proxies he obtained were exhausted and eating their food slowly, Slender at the end of the table with some tea he got. He was surprised how tasty it was considering he only ever had souls. “Masky, Hoodie, I have a task for you.”

“Not for tonight-or morning? Whatever..” Hoodie mumbled, resting his head on the table.

“No not until you three have rested. But Skully will stay here to assist me in collecting souls while you two go and find more worthy proxies.” Slender replied.

“What is the point of collecting these souls? Hell, we’re not even collecting anything! We’re just murdering people!” Skully hissed out irritably.

“The souls are for the Council members and the only way to keep this house, as my proxies, every person you kill the soul is transferred to me.” Slender explained calmly.

“Who the hell is the Council?” Masky questioned, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

“Masky no smoking in here.” Slender grumbled out. “The Council are the people that saved me and created me. That’s all you need to know.”

Masky growled and stood up, crushing the cigarette as he snapped. “That’s all we need- are you fucking joking? We’re slaves now to you! You gave us no reason to keep us as slaves, work us until we die! What kind of system-”

A tendril lashed out from Slender and wrapped around Masky’s neck, tightening as the man began to kick and struggle with the tendril. Both Hoodie and Skully tried to get up to help but two tendrils wrapped around their bodies, pinning them to their chairs as Slender snarled back. “You do not question me, understand? You three are my proxies and will do as I say or you can say goodbye to this world.”

The tendrils retreated as he heard Masky’s mental plea and dropped him, Hoodie now able to get up to help his friend. He coughed loudly as he tried to get his oxygen back, Skully staring at Slender with horror and muttering. “What..are you?”

Trying not to take offense to the question, Slender responded. “A monster that was human. Now, I can already read your thoughts so let me answer some questions running through your minds. If you don’t obey me or you betray the oath, you die. If you don’t accomplish your tasks you will die as well. With time if you three improve you may gain powers. And with being my proxy, you will be immortal.”

Hoodie helped Masky back up onto his feet but Masky pulled away and huffed. “I’m going out to smoke..”

As he turned and left out the front door, Hoodie looked to Slender. “Sir..will we still heal like normal humans?”

“I believe so, why?”

“Because if we come across a mission that injures us we’ll need a doctor.” Hoodie commented.

“Skully and I will keep look out, you and Masky will just need to focus on finding more proxies.” Slender waved off. “Any other concerns?”

“Well..gear, if we still are like humans we’ll need shelter and tools to survive.” Hoodie stuffed his hands into his pockets as he spoke.

“You two will have to improvise.” Slender replied. “The point of being a proxy is using your surroundings and limited tools.”

“So you want us to break into houses and cars for shelter and steal food?” Hoodie asked, seemingly uncomfortable with the idea. “All we have are pocket knives!”

“And I expect you to use them.” Slender grumbled. “Enough arguing Hoodie, if you want other supplies you’ll have to buy or steal them.”

Hoodie was ready to fight back but it was clear he wasn’t going to win, turning away instead to find Masky. Skully got up and followed shortly after and Slender shook his head, using his tendrils to pick up their plates and go to the kitchen. Outside, Masky was smoking, leaning against the porch railing with Hoodie. Skully stood tall and looked up at the sky that was beginning to change to a lighter blue from the approaching sun. “We have to make the best of it huh?”

“With any luck maybe he’ll let us go..” Masky huffed, blowing out a smoke cloud.

“I don’t think that will happen. We are immortal now.” Hoodie remarked, his hand touching over the proxy branding on his wrist.

“But why does he want killers and monsters?” Skully muttered, looking at them.

“No idea..” Masky shrugged.

When Masky finished his cigarette the sun was rising in the horizon and the boys went inside and Slender was there waiting. “Here, let me show you your rooms.”

They followed him to the second floor, Slender motioning his hand to all the rooms. “Pick whatever room you’d like, they’re all the same and you can customize them when you have the time. I would prefer my proxies being on the second floor though, closer to the exit.”

The boys parted and picked out random rooms, Slender wasn’t joking; the rooms had the same bed and dresser in them with a single light. Hoodie looked to Slender and curiously asked. “Slender, how on earth do you even have electricity to run this whole place?”

“That is what the souls are for, to keep this mansion running.” Slender answered.

“Heh, that would be a great achievement in science, “globe saves electricity by using souls.” Skully joked lightly as he picked his room.

“Yeah..no wonder this place looks so clean and is pampered.” Masky scoffed.

“Actually, chores will still need to be done, the souls only create the house and basic needs. But we still have to take care of it.” Slender replied. “Head off to bed, I’ll wake you tomorrow for your missions.”

Slender turned and walked downstairs, hearing the quiet thoughts of the three he just recruited and let a mental sigh escape. Soon a whole month had passed before Slender, and he was shocked to have found an insane doctor and a couple more proxies with that. Hoodie and Masky were a great team while Skully was a great hunter, the three made wonderful proxies. Along with them he now had Kate the Chaser, Rouge, and Doctor Smiley. Rouge seemed dedicated to Slender, almost seeing him as a savior, while Kate held a grudge she was too psychologically unstable to fight back Slender’s control. But Dr.Smiley..he was a different story.

Upon finding the doctor was strange enough, Slender was on patrol when he saw a person in his woods, hard to tell whether he was either inhuman or a normal human. The man’s eyes were red, wearing a grinning mask to which he pulled it down to show his sharp teeth to Slender with a smile. Dr.Smiley had no fear of Slender and admitted to “saving” poor people that were sick, but Slender knew he had his own sadistic agenda. They talked for a while before Slender promised to give Dr.Smiley a home, with a basement just for his “treatments” and whatever else he may need. He accepted in a heartbeat, and Slender had to help him set up the basement as a surgical room with equipment and a steel table. In the corner of the basement behind one curtain was Dr.Smiley’s bed and nightstand with a few books, but he had no materialistic need otherwise.

Slender was more than confident now, marking his new CP’s with his symbol and the souls they collected were more than Slender needed. Souls that were not used for the house or eaten tended to wander the forest, which made great bait to get more people to come to the forest. It was a dream come true. But seeing Dr.Smiley confirmed what Slender believed, there would be others out there needing a home, and were damned in some way. It only wanted to make him find more. Now with more help, and money that they’ve taken from the bodies, Slender could provide for what they needed. Food, room customization, and with new proxies coming into the picture, others can take breaks before the next mission.


	2. Hunting for Guests

In some turn of events, the master of the mansion was informed about a serial killer that was in the nearby human town. Slender had tracked the boy down fairly easily based on Skully’s recon mission, getting to a smaller town as he teleported around to find the teen. The footage that Skully received..it was unnatural what this person could do. By Skully’s data, his name was Jeff the Killer, or at least that’s what everyone called him. Just the name seemed to carry power in it, and Slender wanted to know what kind of skill this teen had. After a while of looking around he stopped at a local park, thankful that it was barren that night.

Slender sat on one of the benches to regain his strength but felt something nearby, someone. Getting up again he moved closer to a brick wall that was built for the kids to play Wall Ball, but behind it a figure was on the ground. They sounded out of breath, and Slender could see blood on the concrete slab. Slender didn’t have to speak before the person turned their head and both were shocked by their views. To one of them a large monster stood before them, and to the other, a teen that was covered in blood with a cut smile and no eyelids. Slowly Slender reached a hand out but quickly pulled away as the teen swung a knife out at him, making him step back as the teen shouted. “The fuck are you?! What do you want?!”

It was clear this kid had practiced enough with the kitchen knife, it’s blade was facing out and blocked his right arm from any attack, a reverse grip to be exact. Slender didn’t want to frighten him more than he was already, the thoughts running through his mind were thoughts of panic, anger, and sadness. A strange combination for a young killer. “Don’t worry, I want to help you.”

“The shit! Get out of my head!” Jeff yelled out, running towards him and slashing the knife at him, but Slender only teleported behind him.

“I only want to-”

“FUCK OFF!” He snapped and quickly turned, only clipping Slender’s leg with the blade as he spun the knife to a forward grip.

There was no way he could talk to him in such a frenzied state, he needed the teen to submit. By what Slender could tell, he had good speed and dexterity, but dodging was only part of Slender’s defense. He teleported away for a second and wrapped a tendril around the killer’s waist, instantly getting the knife jabbed into the tendril making him jolt in pain before flinging the kid to the ground. His body slid across the bark chips as Slender examined the bleeding wound on his tendril, Jeff groaned as he got up again. His grin widened, making Slender curious as the boy ran at him again, but as Slender moved a tendril to grab him Jeff twisted the blade up and cut off the end. Slender howled in pain, accidentally tearing the skin on his face to show his haunting mouth and hit Jeff away with his long arm.

The tendril end laid on the ground bleeding, but Slender’s tendril reformed and he turned to Jeff who was observing Slender. He must have been gauging him because he just kept staring at the taller man. His grin was still on his face and his eyes had a spark of excitement as he ran up to Slender, only this time Slender wrapped two tendrils around Jeff’s arm and swung him into a nearby tree. As great as his attack and speed was, the kid had no self preservation or many defense strategies.

“Enough of this Jeff, I only came to talk.” Slender said as he walked closer, Jeff now leaning back on the tree but glaring at Slender.

“How about you go fuck yourself, I don’t want to talk.” Jeff growled, lifting his middle finger up at Slender.

Slender contained an aggravated sigh before adding on. “I know you’ve been through a lot-”

“Bull shit! You don’t know anything about me!” Jeff shouted accusingly.

“I can read your mind. Jeffrey Woods, currently 17, murdered your family and killed many people since you ran away at age 13. I know you feel angry, upset-”

“Would you shut the fuck up!” Jeff shouted, this time his voice strained which caught Slender off guard as Jeff lifted a hand to wipe something out of his eye and then glared back. “You don’t understand what I feel at all you walking pale ass beanpole!”

Dear god, why did he want to help this teen? Slender sighed. “Maybe I do not know, but I want to help anyway. I live in a mansion in the remote woods, you would be safe there.”

Jeff seemed to ponder this, but made no move to look away or get up at Slender’s proposal. “And what the hell would I do there?”

“The only thing I would require is you helping us make the house tidy every now and then, and killing anyone that tries to enter the woods. Otherwise you’re free to do whatever you like.” Slender shrugged, moving his arms behind himself in an attempt to relax Jeff.

Jeff stood up and scoffed, wiping the dirt and bark chips off his body. “Forget it, I’m not joining any cult club or anything.”

“It’s not like that. You can kill when you want, be in the mansion to rest and eat. Surely it’s better than stealing chips from a convenience store.” Slender commented, crossing his arms.

Jeff’s face had a light pink dusting to it and shouted at him. “Stay out of my head!”

“I will give you some time to think about my offer.” Slender replied and began to walk off. 

The killer kept predatory eyes on the tall creature, waiting until it vanished before he leaned back against the tree with a groan. “Mother fucker..why can’t I get a break?”

After some time passed, the killer got up and started walking, nowhere in particular, just walking through the park. He considered the offer but he decided against it, he wanted to live freely without being some servant or rent payer. What would serve the purpose of him being with a group of killers? There were more people he had to make sleep and wasting his time with a gang or family would be pointless. Maybe he’d be able to fight with that creature again.

A week had passed, Slender was not happy with how things turned out with Jeff, but hoped he would come around soon. In the meantime he had to search for the other CP’s that were rumored by his proxies. The next was a rumored group of killings that would range from grown adults to kids, and what they had in common was they were families. Kate had told him about singing in the woods and giggles from a child, but normally a child would not be alone in the woods singing. He needed to investigate it and set out for the location that Kate told him about. Wandering to the far side of his forest, where the fog starts to dissipate and the neighborhood houses are less than 7 yards away, he stood behind a tree and listened.

It was late but morning would be coming in the next couple hours, and he had no idea when this child would show, maybe the child was just an odd human. He continued to wait though, and after about 30 minutes of wandering he heard humming. It started calm but then grew louder and gleeful, soon he heard giggling follow and it encouraged him to look out from behind the tree. It was a little girl, twirling and singing while swinging a teddy bear in her hands, couldn’t be older than 12. She wore a bright pink dress and had long brunette locks, her eyes a shimmering green and blood cascading down her face. Her feet covered with white socks that were covered in dirt, and along her arms and legs were cuts and bruises. 

Slowly he crept out from behind the trees and she fell back on her rump, still giggling but now facing Slender and her giggling stopped. She didn’t look scared, more curious than anything, and Slender stopped a few feet away from her. She gripped onto her teddy and Slender tilted his head, her mimicking the action threw him off and he tilted his head the other way, surprised to see her do the same. He moved one tendril close to her, in an attempt to pat her head but she made him jolt when she suddenly wrapped her arms around it and laughed. Slender calmed himself before trying to pull the tendril back, but the girl hung on and giggled as she was lifted into the air.

“You’re really tall!” She squealed as he set her back on the ground but she kept a firm grip on his tendril.

“Um yes..” Slender nodded, his mental voice seemed to catch her off guard but then she let go of the tendril and walked closer with her teddy.

“I’m Sally! Who are you?” Sally asked, smiling up at him.

“You can call me Slender.” Slender replied, kneeling down to get closer to her height. “What are you doing out here?”

“Playing.” Sally commented as an “obviously” tone. “Me and Mr.D like to play in the woods!”

“Mr.D?”

She lifted up her bear with a big smile. “Say hello to Mr.D!”

Her playfulness was endearing to him and he patted the bears head. “Hello Mr.D. Sally, do you have a home?”

Sally’s smile faded and she pulled Mr.D to her chest, shaking her head. “No..”

“Do you want to live with me?” Slender asked politely, making her look up.

“Are you alone?” 

“No, there are others like you at my mansion.” Slender replied, only to jolt as she let out an excited squeal.

“Are you a prince?! Only princes live in castles and mansions!” Her eyes were gleaming with excitement and made Slender chuckle.

“No, I’m not a prince. But I have a mansion that will host a lot of people hopefully.” Slender replied as he stood up tall. “I can take you there.”

“Ok! But you have to carry me!” Sally giggled, raising her arms.

Slender couldn’t resist and used two tendrils to loop around her waist and legs to lift her up, lifting her high enough to touch the trees if she desired. He began walking home, having to ignore the occasional tug or swinging of his tendrils that held Sally. She kept asking small questions on the way or making childish remarks, but Slender didn’t mind, it made him feel normal. During the walk he was able to read her memories, what kind of monster rapes an innocent girl and leaves her to die?

Arriving at the mansion Masky was asleep on one of the couches and Hoodie was looking over a wound on his leg that was swollen. Slender bent his head down to get in and carefully set Sally on the ground. “Welcome to your new home Sally.”

“Wow! It’s so big!” She gasped out in amazement.

“What the hell? Is that a kid?” Hoodie asked, getting up and immediately hissing with pain and regret at the action.

“Hoodie, watch your language. She’s one of the new CP’s, and her name is Sally.” Slender nodded, focusing on Sally as she ran around in curiosity.

“Slender, no offense but there’s no one to possibly watch her.” Hoodie replied. “And I don’t think you will be able to take her around either.”

“Don’t worry she will stay with Rouge or Dr.Smiley.” Slender hushed him and followed Sally, although in Hoodie’s mind Rouge was ok, Dr.Smiley was not the best babysitter.

“Sally, let me show you to your room. It’s going to be morning soon.” Slender calmly said as he picked up Sally in his arms.

“Ok! Do you have something I could eat though?” Sally questioned.

“I do, I’ll bring up food in a few minutes.” Slender nodded, as he said this he teleported up to the second floor to one of the vacant rooms.

“Do that again!” Sally giggled as he set her on the bed.

“Maybe tomorrow night Sally, I’ll get you some food, just stay here.” 

He teleported downstairs and began to cook, while Kate and Rouge arrived back at the manor to see Hoodie wrapping up his leg. Kate was the first to ask as she removed her mask. “Anything happen while we were out?”

“Sort of..Masky and I ran from a fucked up druggie group, and we have a new CP.” Hoodie replied, grimacing at his wound from under the hood.

“A new CP? Who?” Rouge questioned, turning her head to look at him.

“A little girl named Sally..” Hoodie mumbled as he finished tying the bandage.

“Little girl? There are kid CP’s?” Kate asked, tilting her head.

“I don’t think there’s a limit to the CP kind.” Hoodie commented back. “Kid CP, demons, normal people like us?” 

“We really need a better explanation of what the hell it is we need to find.” Rouge scoffed, leaning on the kitchen counter.

“What we need to find is people with abnormal abilities.” Slender cut in as he walked in with a plate with a sandwich and chips. “CP’s are people that have an abnormal skill of killing, powers, and had a terrible life before.”

“We didn’t have a terrible life..” Kate muttered. “You made us insane.”

“For a greater good, and was your life so much better before?”

“Yes! I was making a film with my friends!” Hoodie snapped there.

“And I was just trying to live my life!” Katie joined in. “My mother had just passed when you found me and C.J. also paid the price!”

“Enough!” Slender snarled, his mouth tearing open a fraction to make them quiet. “Look, everyone eat and get some rest, it’s been a long day.”

As he teleported away Rouge spoke softly. “I was having a shitty life before I met him..”

“But we weren’t, sure maybe we had bumps but nothing terrible enough to wish our lives away.” Hoodie sighed, lifting off his hoodie to wipe his face off, then stood up. “I’m gonna sleep..”

Sally bit into her grilled cheese sandwich happily as she looked at Slender. “How did you find me?”

“My proxy was actually the one that told me they heard singing, so I went out to look.” Slender replied, finding himself actually enjoying her presence.

“I heard yelling..are they mad?” Sally asked quietly.

Slender let out a sigh and pat her head. “Some of them don’t approve of being here, but they don’t understand why they’re here to begin.”

“Can’t you just tell them?”

“I try, but they are stubborn.” Slender replied, surprised when Sally got up and hugged him.

“Well I like you! And I like it here!” 

Slender tilted his head but chuckled and patted her head. “I’m glad, I hope we find some way to keep you happy here. What do you like to do?”

“Draw! Oh! And tea parties! Do you have other stuffies?” Sally asked, looking up with wide and excited eyes.

“I’ll see what I can do, I will check on you later. Go ahead and eat and then get some sleep.” Slender replied as he stood, Sally’s hands moving to hold her teddy.

“Ok! Can I watch tv downstairs?”

“Sure, after you eat.” Slender nodded and teleported out from the room, straight to Dr.Smiley’s lab. “Dr.smiley? Are you here?”

“Right here~!” Dr.Smiley replied, waving a bloody scalpel in his hand as he was looming over a bloody male body on the operating table. “Need something Slender?”

“I was wondering if you could watch over a little girl for a bit.” Slender replied. “Just for when I’m not around.”

Dr.Smiley tilted his head, setting the tool down and removing his bloody gloves. “A girl? A CP?”

“Yes, but I do not know if she has a full grasp of what she is now, I just want someone to watch her when I’m not around.” Slender explained. “Can you handle that?”

“You wound me Slender, I think I can watch a little girl.” He chuckled. “How young?”

“12, she seems observant but still naive.” Slender replied. “And please if you can explain what it is she..is now then that would be appreciated.”

“Can’t you just transfer your knowledge to her?”

“I fear she may lose her mind if I do that. I don’t want to hurt her.” Slender shook his head, worry clearly in his words. 

“I see...you know you never explained your ambition for rescuing the abnormal and killers.” Dr.smiley spoke carefully, watching the tall man with sharp eyes as his voice was muffled in his mask.

“I told you before, to help those that-”

“That are similar to you. Don’t lie, Slender there’s a motive, why else are you desperately searching for these people?” Dr.smiley pushed, slipping the bloody gloves on.

“There is no other motive.” Slender grumbled. “I figure that if there are beings that are lost and alone that I would provide for them.”

Dr.Smiley said nothing at first, watching carefully before taking a deep sigh. “If you say so. Well, I will watch the little girl.”

“Thank you.” Slender nodded, walking to the door but the demented doctor called out to him.

“Trust is a fragile thing, Slender, I would be careful about your choice of words as to why we’re here and who you tell.” 

“I will take that under advisement..” Slender replied before leaving the basement and walking to his room.

As the morning rose, Masky was begrudgingly patrolling the woods again, but he didn’t see much of a point. Many people didn’t come to the forest unless they were desperate for a party spot or camping spot, the terrain was too flat for hiking and it was always covered with fog. It was not a problem being in the cold but with all the damn missions he was sore, and still tired. Hoodie and Skully were sent to try and find more CP’s while Kate, Rouge, and himself took care of the patrol. 

“God kill me now..” He growled to himself, adjusting his mask for a second when he heard rapid steps.

Looking around he waited for a deer or maybe a raccoon, but the steps stopped as he looked up. Feeling a little uncomfortable he slowly took out his knife, cautiously moving to one of the trees to take cover. The footsteps got louder but what jumped out surprised Masky, a large cherry red and grey dog with a sickening smile, blood seeped down the teeth of the dog. Masky wasn’t sure what to think as the dog turned to face him, the tail of the ragged dog wagged, but the eyes showed malice.

Masky didn’t get to say anything before the oddly colored dog jumped on him, the proxy instantly teleported out from under. The dog was only slightly surprised before barking and jumping at him again, this time Masky had to block the oncoming claws with his left arm, shoving the animal back before assessing his options. Kill this potential CP and deal with Slender, or try to capture it without dying. If he didn’t try to capture it, Slender would be pissed. Making up his mind, he flicked the knife up and stabbed the blade into the shoulder of the husky as it jumped at him again. 

A yowl of pain escaped the dog and it turned its head, digging its teeth into Masky’s arm, the taste of the blood made a growl erupt from the dog. Masky moved his leg up to kick the rabid dog off but the teeth were latched too tightly onto his arm and it was impossible to get the dog off without ripping his arm apart. Finally he wrenched the knife out and cut the blade across the leg of the dog, finally making it let go. The dog staggered back but even with its shoulder and leg bleeding, it looked even more determined to kill Masky.

Masky was just about to strike again, flicking some of the blood from his arm, but something was thrown from the forest and hit the dog on the side before dropping. A leg of a deer, still fresh and bleeding out onto the forest floor, and the dog looked between the leg and Masky and growled before turning to the leg and began to devour it. Masky looked up in confusion, seeing a figure step out from the shadows. Wearing a white hoodie with blood stained all over him, the hood pulled over his head. “Not very good with animals are you?”

“Who are you?” Masky asked, keeping away from the dog as it ate and away from the stranger.

“Jeff the Killer, I was trying to look for a pale faced asshole.” Jeff replied, Masky still not able to see his face but could see a lock of black hair under the hood. 

“Pale face-You mean Slenderman?” Masky asked in disbelief. “Hold on, how the hell do you know him?”

“Because he found me and offered a home, and I happened to make a friend on the way.” Jeff’s voice was smug and prideful, it honestly disgusted Masky.

“Friend, right..” Masky huffed. “And...this friend is..”

“Smile Dog. I stumbled upon him after one of his victims committed a suicide.” Jeff replied with a shrug. “Figured he needed a master.”

Smile looked up with a growl, making Jeff chuckle. “Or at least he needed a companion.”

After finishing the leg, Smile stood up and growled again at Masky before walking to Jeff. Masky stared skeptically but nodded. “Alright..I’ll take you there. But no attacking anyone else there!”

Jeff and Smile followed Masky, making no attempt to start a conversation on the walk to the mansion. Smile would occasionally run ahead and chase some of the animals around them, but wouldn’t be gone long before running back. Masky held his arm, trying to slow the bleeding and was thankful to see the mansion up ahead. Stepping inside he yelled out. “Slender! I got your fucking CP. And Hoodie! Where is your ass?! I need your med kit!”

Slender was teleported to the door in seconds, Jeff jumping back a little and Smile dog staying behind Jeff and growling at the tall man. “I had hoped you would come Jeff.”

With a scoff, Jeff looked away. “Eh, free place to stay, get to kill all the humans I want. It’s not a bad offer..”

“And you must be Smile Dog?” Slender said, making the dog stop growling and his ears perked up. “Yes I know you, you have many people who have fallen victim to you, it’s impressive work.”

Smile sat down, puffing out his chest and his tail wagging in excitement. Jeff rolled his eyes and took his hood off. “So, what other people are here?”

“A few, not too many yet.” Slender replied. “I will give you details later, but for now let’s just get you a room.”

Jeff said nothing but followed Slender upstairs, the young killer looking around in shock at the size of this mansion, even Smile was taking his time to sniff everything. Jeff stopped after a bit and opened one of the rooms, Slender stopping to watch him examine the room. “I think I’ll go with this one. Smile, what do you think?”

With a bark the dog got onto the bed and curled up, neither him or Jeff seemed to care about the sheets being stained with blood. Jeff turned to Slender and confirmed. “We’ll go with this room..”

“I assume you will be taking care of Smile now.” Slender commented. “I am not going to be treating him like he’s my pet.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Jeff dismissed as he looked around the room. “I’m gonna take some time to get some things collected. Got any black paint?”

“If you want to design your room you must get the supplies yourself.” Slender stated. “I won’t be providing anything but the mansion and food. You may steal whatever you would like from the humans.”

“Ah, and if I need a bail?” Jeff smirked at Slender, taking out his knife. “I’m guessing you’re not opposed to me killing.”

“Not at all. But try not to get caught, humans are easily afraid of everything and blow things out of proportion.” Slender cautioned, getting a huff from Jeff.

“Oh fucking hell I know. Trust me on this, if any news reporter makes a fuss or false claim over my work I’ll slit their throats myself.” Jeff grumbled before walking to the bed and petting Smile’s head.

Slender nodded and left the room, confidence beginning to grow in his chest, teleporting downstairs he started walking to his room to sleep. His path was put to a stop seeing Rouge patching up Masky’s arm with Hoodie off to the side eating a sandwich. Slender stepped over and tilted his head. “What happened?”

“This is what Jeff’s little demon did to me when I found them.” Masky growled, moving his arm away to check the bandages.

Rouge looked at Slender, and despite the mask in the way, he could hear the concern in her voice. “Slender, are you sure we’ll be safe? The killers you bring might end up killing each other or us.”

“I don’t expect it to be easy, but I am trying to keep people safe that have lost everything.” Slender elaborated, but heard Hoodie scoff.

“There are two places for those kinds of people, prison and psych wards.” 

This comment earned a smack on the back of Hoodie’s head, making the proxy re-adjust his hood. The tall pale man shook his head and groaned mentally, his head turning to face his proxies as he directed them. “What we need now is cameras to mark the forest borders, to keep watch for humans. And as soon as my brothers arrive we can get this household picked up a little. Rouge, Skully, I want you two to focus on getting groceries. Then Masky, Hoodie, and Kate I need you to steal some equipment.”

“Hold it.” Masky ordered and rolled his sleeve back over his patched up arm. “Cameras? If you plan on having that much equipment then we need a room to monitor, plus what are we supposed to do? Plug an extension into a tree?”

“There are battery powered wireless cameras Masky, stop being a drama queen.” Kate commented. “My friend used to go to camera stores and bring me along. But Masky is right that we need someplace to monitor from.”

“Maybe we can design one of the rooms to be a surveillance room.” Rouge suggested. “But we’d also need to steal the monitors..”

Slender was drowned out from the conversation, the proxies now going through their own plan, yet he was more proud of them. They were working together and that’s what he wanted, now he could take time to collect souls himself. Samuel was not wrong, three days without souls and Slender already felt tired, along with the mansion. It was an interesting feeling, the mansion felt alive and would get cold if he did not maintain the soul collection. Teleporting from the group, he started to wander the woods in search of a food source. Now that Jeff lived with them perhaps there was a chance to attract some other killers, and Sally seemed like a good addition as well with her cheery attitude. He was eager to see what the kids could do, the newspapers and News casts on TV could only provide so much information.

While walking he felt something off and checked his surroundings to see a darker section of the woods, the trees packed together to block the light of the oncoming morning. This area belonged to Zalgo and covered half of the forest, however Zalgo’s territory was in the center of the forest and Slender’s territory wrapped around it like a snake around its prey. However, it was not seen that way, after their fight they both agreed to share the forest even if Zalgo lived in the under realm, it was easier for him to make humans come to the forest to ask for help from the devil. Of course the humans get a nasty surprise instead of a miracle. 

Slender turned to not cross Zalgo’s area, continuing his search for humans to prey on. In this case it was simpler if he just looked around to make sure his notes were still on their trees, after wandering this forest for so long Slender has memorized every spot. As the sun rose up Slender started on his way home, the tall man stomped through the forest before stopping at an odd sight. Blood, lots of blood on the grass that was dragging up towards the abandoned building of the forest. Slender had contemplated getting rid of it considering it was just a collection of rooms with only two entrances that served as exits as well, but it was a great way to confuse anyone that tried to escape his forest. The blood trail led inside and he cautiously stepped in, bending down a bit to enter the building and heard something tearing, flesh perhaps.

Following the noise, Slender glanced into one of the dead end rooms and could just barely make out the presence of a hunched over figure. It stayed still, almost like it knew Slender was there. Taking a chance Slender spoke telepathically to the person, noticing the deer carcass and saying carefully. “Hello, are you alone?”

The figure twitched, growling lowly but Slender could hear the reply. “Who are you?”

“Slenderman, owner of this forest. Are you injured?” Slender introduced, stepping into the room but staying at the door.

“No..” It growled back, turning around to show it’s impressive long claws that were covered in blood. The creature before Slender looked like an animal humanoid, pale, around 6 foot tall but he was hunched over. The shiny eyes of the bloody creature made Slender on edge but he remained as calm as possible.

“Well..You seem like a person that has traveled aimlessly. How would you like to stay here in my protection?”

“Sounds too good to be true..” He snapped. “What do we both get?”

“You get a home, protection, and you kill as much as you want. The only thing I ask is you do kill and obey me. You have freedom, but if I say you need to do something like trusting the other killers I have at home.” Slender responded, seeing him grumble and step closer.

“Alright..I agree for now, but if this is a trick I won’t hesitate to tear you apart.”

“Understood. What do I call you?” Slender asked as he stepped out from the room, walking down the hall with the creature following.

“Rake, Call me Rake.”


	3. Recruiting the Forgotten

Summer had arrived fairly quickly, and to Slender’s surprise they had over 20 guests with them, only a few weeks Slender and his proxies had managed to find quite a few CPs. There were just a few struggles..

“Jeff! I swear if you go into my room again I’ll hang you from your own intestines!” Clockwork yelled out, footsteps thumping loudly upstairs followed but laughter of the pale killer.

The CP’s have had a hard time adapting to living in one household, Slender knew this was highly possible, but the only time the others interacted was if it was dinner time or they bumped into each other. It was impossible to go one day without a fight breaking out or something smashing to pieces. He managed to get a few quiet CP’s which was nice, a friend of Offender being Kagekao, and a lovely girl named Sadie. Slender’s brothers helped around often to make sure the mansion was cleaned up, Offender being the only one to skip out when the chance popped up. Splendor had found a person named the Rabbit Stalker and Trender had met up with a young intelligent man named Chessmaster. Of course there were more to be found. Rouge had mentioned to Slender that some CP’s couldn’t be found just by wandering the nearby cities and that they would need to search the world for others. To that, Slender agreed and had his brother Trender go with Rouge, Skully, and Kate to find other CP’s around the world. Knowing they would be gone for a while also brought up a hunt to find another proxy, to which would be a task on Slender. He’s gained many strong and intelligent CP’s, but he wanted one that was like a wild card, someone irreplaceable. The one thing holding him back though was who was going to watch the mansion while he was gone, he didn’t want to come back with a burned home. 

Despite there being fairly responsible CP’s, they were distant and wouldn’t be able to keep a grip on the others or not show care to take care of others. Sally was sweetly offering to cook for the others, but they would need to eat more than cookies. The proxies were too busy as it was, and his brothers were busy in their own ways. Slender was watching the news early, or morning time when everyone else was asleep, in hope to find news on any CP’s. Thanks to his newer CP the Operator, or known as Mattias, Slender could watch TV news from different countries to find potential CP’s. Operator would be the only person he could trust to watch the house, but the man barely got out of his room as it was, or when he went killing it was always when everyone else was asleep.

Even with all the hesitancy, a news report came up from Berlin from a place called Black Wood Asylum. Getting up from the couch, Slender walked to the security room, opening the door and seeing Hoodie asleep at the desk. The proxies were not entirely ready for days without sleep, but they would have to get used to it. Picking up a paper and pen he made a quick note before teleporting out from the mansion. It was hard to travel large scale distances without getting a snack, so Slender would need to be efficient to get to the asylum without wasting his energy teleporting. Something that this new life was giving him was an exercise, a new test of his endurance and patients, not to mention the constant use of his powers to find more CP’s. But he wasn’t going to give up when he came so far.

As Hoodie woke up from Masky shaking him awake, he yawned and looked at the note. “huh..Masky, Slender’s gone..”

“He’s what?” Masky asked, snatching the note away and reading it. “Oh great..we have to watch the CP’s? Does he realize how much of an ass Jeff is?”

“Hey let’s be lucky it’s mainly him. At least Rake and Smile dog we just have to throw food to them and the others are typically able to take care of themselves. I think he just wants us to make sure this place doesn’t get destroyed.” Hoodie grunted as he stretched his arms back and sat up straight.

“Well, we got our task then..want a beer?” Masky asked, setting the note down.

“Sounds good.” Hoodie nodded. “We’ll go check cameras afterwards.”

Masky left the room again, his eyes adjusting to the dark outside with the crescent moon that shined through the windows. Walking to the kitchen and grabbing a beer from the fridge, as he turned he felt himself jump a good few inches off the ground seeing the Rake behind him, but the CP merely passed by him and took a raw deer leg from the freezer before scuttling away. Masky was not used to all these kinds of creatures and killers, it honestly made him on edge because he wasn’t sure who would attack him or ignore him. Jeff has already proven himself as a threat to everyone, barely able to walk by without glaring at someone or snapping at them, and his dog Smile would only growl or bark if he truly didn’t like you.

Clockwork was fairly decent, she would talk to someone if she was downstairs, but speaking with her any time other than dinner was like poking a feral cat. The Observer was never seen, Chessmaster was polite like Dr.Smiley, Rake kept to himself, Sally was sweet but could be a handful, and so on. It was a real pain to try and watch everyone, and since Masky and Hoodie were proxies they really had no say. In some ways this wasn’t the worst, they could make the rules and keep others in line, but CP’s could simply ignore them or leave until Slender was back. Entering back into the security room where Hoodie was still shaking off his exhaustion, he set one of the beers on the table and sat in his own chair. “So, anything yet?”

“No, and I’m getting eye strain from all the damn screens. Why do we have to watch for humans? Couldn’t they leave on their own?” Hoodie huffed and took a sip from the beer.

“Slender says they could be curious just like we were when he found us.” Masky shrugged. “Here, finish your drink and I’ll take watch. You’ve been up for the last few nights on your own.”

“You sure? What about the other CP’s?” Hoodie asked, lifting his hood off completely and showing the bags he’s accumulated for the past couple nights.

“Yeah, besides if I have to take someone down I’d rather you be at your full strength.” Masky nodded and removed his mask. 

They tapped their beer bottles before taking a big gulp, it was only when their masks and hoods were off that they felt like friends. Able to recognize each other and not need to worry about anyone seeing their faces. Hoodie did leave with his mask up when he was finished with his drink, staggering upstairs to his room and jumped back to the wall when Mr.Widemouth and Tails hurried past him downstairs, the furby-like creature chuckling softly with the doll levitating down the stairs.

Masky in the meantime watched the camera’s with boredom, debating on going out and checking the batteries, but his thoughts were cut off seeing a human walking to the woods. Realizing it was camera 18 he groaned and got up, taking off outside and running as fast as possible to the location. In all they had 36 cameras that lined the forest, which took a whole day to space them out but Kate mentioned they would need more. The masked proxy sped through the forest, attempting to keep track of which cameras he was passing, also trying to stay out of sight from the humans that could be passing the fence. Getting to the location he saw the human boy wandering, his pupils blown wide and a smell of weed on him.

Guy must have wandered here on a dare or was trying to shake off his drug trip. Masky contemplated his options to just let him wander, kill him, or knock him out and take him back. Since his orders were not to let anyone exit the forest alive, and he really didn’t want to see Dr.Smiley, he chose to kill. Taking out his switchblade, to which he wished to trade for a gun eventually, he creeped closer but concealed himself behind the trees. He waited until the man stumbled by and he grabbed his arm, yanking him closer before dragging the switchblade across his neck, dropping the body as it twitched and waited patiently for it to stop moving. Protocol for killing a person was either to leave it to the animals or bring it home for Rake, Dr.Smiley only wanted living test subjects so it was pointless to try and bring it to him.

Once the body stopped moving, Masky lifted the man’s body onto his back and grunted at the weight and cringed at his blood trickling down and soaking into his shoulder. Masky made quick strides to get home, wanting the body off him and praying to god that the mansion was in one piece. Arriving back to his new home a sigh of relief left him and stepped inside, being careful not to have the blood drip on the wooden floors. Walking in it seemed quiet enough until he heard a crash in the other room, quickly dropping the body before running to the next room and seeing Clockwork wrestling with Frankie. The table was flipped on its side and a broken vase on the floor, the female killer moving to stab Frankie in the head but he was just as fast to raise his arm and let her stab the dagger into his arm. 

“Hey knock it off you two!” Masky yelled as he ran over, grabbing Clockwork by her arms and pulling her off of Frankie.

The undead CP sat up, glancing at his arm with irritation but just stood up and grunted. “Dumb cunt.”

“Fuck you!” Clockwork snapped as she tried to attack him but Masky kept a firm grip on her until Frankie walked to the staircase and marched to his room.

As she started to squirm more, Masky let go and snarled. “What was that about?”

“He started it-” The female CP huffed, putting her dagger away.

“Bullshit, Frankie is silent as a mouse unless someone talks to him first. I was literally gone for 20 minutes!” Masky grumbled, tempted to take a cigarette out.

Clockwork’s geen eye glanced at him then at the floor as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. “He made a sexist remark when I asked why he looked like a corpse.”

“Just...don’t get into another fight. Try to do that.” Masky sighed in frustration before moving to the tipped over table and pulling it back onto its legs before getting on his knees to pick up the pieces of the vase.

She hung around for a second, watching him before treading off to who knows where. Masky shook his head a bit before remembering he dropped the body and that he would have to clean the blood later. After picking the pieces up he stood and walked to the kitchen to throw out the pieces and saw Sally in the kitchen, making a bowl of cookie dough. Dumping the pieces into the trash he then walked back to the hall where the body was, hauling it onto his back before slowly walking to the large freezer room they had, to his surprise Sally had opened the door for him with a big smile. After getting the body hung up he stepped out and nodded to Sally. “Thanks kid.”

“Do you want to try some of my cookie dough?” Sally asked, already passed the deed she had done for him and back on the stool as she continued to mix the dough.

“Um..no, I don’t really like sweet things.” Masky declined before looking at the floor that had crimson on it and groaned. “Shit now I need to clean this..”

Sally watched him as he went to the sink and grabbed a towel, wetting it before going to the spot of blood and started to clean it off the ground. “You know..you and the hooded guy work really hard, why not take a break?”

“We can’t, Slender is out of the mansion and needs us to keep things..well safe I guess.” Masky shrugged and stood up to evaluate the floor to see if any blood was left.

“Slendy is gone? What about his brothers?” Sally questioned, tilting her head.

“Haven’t seen Offender in days, Splendor is probably wandering the woods, and Trender is probably working on clothes or in the city.” Masky explained. “Slender didn’t say where he went but that he would be gone a couple days.”

“Aww..he’s going to miss the tea party..” Sally pouted before getting off the stool and moving it to the oven.

Masky quickly went to the oven and turned it on for her, setting the temperature for her. “Here let me at least help you with this part.”

“Thanks Masky!” Sally giggled and moved back to the cookie dough before starting to scoop it out in a spoon onto a pan. “Mr.D says thank you too!”

The stuffed bear was sitting up right on the counter and Masky was conflicted if he should believe it was alive or not. However he replied anyways as he stood by the oven. “You’re..welcome.” 

He spent the next few minutes watching her before checking the time and saying. “After the cookies get finished you need to go to bed.”

“Aww, but can’t I stay up another couple hours?” Sally whined, attempting to pull the puppy-dog eyes.

“One hour.” Masky firmly stated and got an angry pout from the girl.

“An Hour and a half.”

“One hour.”

“Hour and 15 minutes?” 

“One. Hour.” Masky stated and couldn’t help but smirk under his mask seeing her cross her arms, knowing he won the debate.

“...Can I at least eat a couple cookies and watch TV?” Sally reasoned.

Masky thought and nodded. “Go pick a show, I’ll watch the cookies.”

She beamed and hopped off the stool with her bear, running to the couch and picking up the controller. Masky let out a sigh, but was glad there wasn’t any other conflicts. As he waited Chessmaster walked to the kitchen and twirled his cane. “Ah, evening Masky. What are you doing?”

“Helping Sally bake..” Masky mumbled and crossed his arms. “You?”

“I am just getting myself some food. I assume Slender is gone tonight?” Chessmaster reasoned. “If his brothers are not cooking then normally he is.”

“Yeah...Not sure when he’ll be back.” Masky answered, watching as Chessmaster made himself a sandwich. 

“I heard some yelling earlier. Was there a problem?” Chessmaster asked, not looking at Masky.

“Yeah, Clockwork got into a fight is all.” Masky shrugged off. “If you heard it why didn’t you come to check?”

“I figured that someone else would. You proxies are quick.” Chessmaster smirked a little. “Besides, if I got in the way I would have only made an enemy.”

“So you were waiting for someone else to get shit on.” Masky grumbled. “Rather selfish..”

“I think of it as a survival strategy. If I make no enemies then everyone trusts me until I don’t need them.” Chessmaster said, his grin growing larger yet on his face it could be mistaken as a richman’s playful smile, seeming trustworthy.

“Right..” Masky didn’t know how to respond to that, but continued. “Why did you come here?”

“Well after slaying the people that were in my way I wanted a new challenge, but of course I needed a place to stay as well. There was no way I could stay at my home that was now covered in blood, so I went looking. Of course my black and white appearance does not blend with humans that well, so I walked to the woods for a safe place to stay. But I was not expecting to run into a tall creature with no face.” Chessmaster joked lightly. “He explained his conditions and I agreed to them.”

“Guess that makes sense..” Masky agreed slowly, then saw Sally run over and quickly checked on the cookies. “Sally, get the heat pad.”

She nodded and quickly grabbed the rubber pad from one of the drawers and laid it out on the counter, grabbing her mits as Masky turned off the oven. Chessmaster chuckled as she took out the cookies and asked. “May I have one Sally?”

“Yeah! There’s plenty to go around!” Sally nodded. “But you have to let them cool!”

“Of course.” Chessmaster nodded and bowed to her as she dashed back to the couch and continued watching her show. He looked back at the proxy and chuckled. “Such a lovely girl.”

“Well..she’s at least not a pain.” Masky commented before walking to the security room. “See you later.”

“Good night Masky~” Chessmaster said, a form of undertone teasing in his voice.

In the room, Masky quickly looked over the video footage he missed while helping Sally, but he was left disappointed seeing no change. An occasional group of kids or adults walking on the other side of the fence, but no one was in the forest. A sigh escaped him as he took off his mask and took out a cigarette before placing the end in his mouth and lighting it. “This is going to be a long night..”

Slender was not expecting his mission to be tested by his want to explore, Berlin was a lovely place and the woods near the asylum were just as lovely. Arriving at the asylum, Slender stalked the patients, waiting to see if anyone would be a good Creepypasta. To his disappointment, not many of the patients were stable enough or had good skills to add to the family. In the midst of his walk he stopped seeing a limb sticking out of the ground, walking over and brushing the dirt away to see a limb that was detached from a body. With some digging, Slender was able to uncover the body of a girl and her limbs were separated from her body, and her chest cut open.

“What has happened?” Slender thought to himself before thinking and looking to the asylum. The body was not completely rotted, in fact the skin was mostly there and only her eyes and organs were gone. He stood and teleported to the asylum, being careful of the people still walking the perimeter, but he wasn’t concerned about a patient seeing him. He crept into the building, turning out to be a bigger struggle than he thought with how small the rooms were.

However, after some dead ends and random teleporting out of panic, he found a medical room and picked up some medical supplies. He had learned over his time of reading that magic book, he may be able to resurrect someone from the dead, but he’s never done it before. Once he got back to the girl he took out a sewing kit and started to stitch her body back together, surprised by the difficulties with the dying flesh. Even if it would be easier for him to resurrect her and then stitch her up, she would probably experience major pain. The night rolled on as he continued to piece the girl together, also stitching up the hospital gown to cover her up a bit, but as he looked at her open chest he had to think about how to resurrect her, and her spine was not going to work the same without another form of stabilization.

In order to give her some of his power he needed a catalyst, and then he needed something to help her spin to stay straight. He teleported back to the asylum, picking up several keys of the patients rooms, to his frustration he had to kill a couple employees that caught him in the act. Slender began to collect anything he could carry that could potentially help this girl, keys, paper, rocks, even a jar of blood from what he assumed to be a sample from a patient. When he got back to her he began to line the keys and gears along her spine to straighten her back and then used the blood to partially fill her open chest and looked at the other items he brought. He looked at a shiny quartz crystal and sighed before focusing on it, feeling his energy seep into the quartz and set it onto her chest. After stitching her chest up he watched patiently, waiting for a sign of life, he was proud of his stitch work even if it was haphazardly and hoped that she would wake up.

The sun was beginning to rise before he heard a sharp gasp, startling Slender from his half-awake state and she weakly sat up. Slender helped her sit up, the actions of her reminding him of a doll and without her eyes she would be seen as one twisted slender doll. After she finally relaxed she looked at Slender and whimpered out. “Wh-who are you?” 

“Slenderman. I found you dead and put you back together. What is your name?” Slender asked.

“A-ally..” She whimpered out. “I feel so strange..”

“You will for a while, but we should get home.” Slender said as he stood up, lifting the girl into his arms and starting to teleport his way home.

Running around the perimeter, Hoodie looked along the fence line, counting the cameras as he looked around for the stranger that had entered the woods. It was only shadows on the camera, but it was enough to see it was a person with a hoodie. After getting to the 24th camera, Hoodie looked at the truck in the forest that was abandoned a while back. The side door of the truck was opened and a figure was lying inside, Hoodie making his way slowly to the truck and peeking inside to see a sleeping figure. There were white feathers on the back of the person, making Hoodie freeze up and hold his lead pipe, since Masky still had the knife he had to go with the pipe. “Hello?”

The figure said nothing and Hoodie looked over the muscled body with a skeletal design on his arms and chest, and in the center he was bleeding. Hoodie noticed the light breathing of the body, the back rising in falling as it was laid over the back seat. Slowly, Hoodie took the man’s arm and felt for a pulse, surprised to feel a faint pulse and grunted. “Oh you’ve got to be shitting me..”

Carefully dragging the body out, it was clear he wasn’t human, and Hoodie saw this as a chance to see if he was a Creepypasta. After getting the person onto his back he began to trek home, trying to move quickly considering he didn’t have much time, and this was one of those days he wished he could teleport like Slender. At the thought of this person dying on his way back, he started to lightly sprint to the mansion, doing his best to keep himself balanced as he ran home. The heat of the summer sun wasn’t helping as it broke through the tree line and fogged up forest that never seemed to die out. The jog home was a pain, his back hurt from the pressure and he wasn’t sure if anyone else would be up to help him, but he had to get to Dr.Smiley.

Once getting inside, Hoodie struggled to the basement and kicked the door open, ignoring the snap of the lock and stepping in. “Dr.Smiley? Are you up?”

A groan echoed in the room and Hoodie flicked the lights on before walking downstairs and setting the stranger onto the autopsy table. He looked to the corner of the room where a bed was put up and a desk covered in papers, to which he saw the doctor curl out of bed. “Hoodie? Why the rude awakening?”

“Sorry I have someone here that needs help.” Hoodie replied as he motioned to the body. “His pulse is weak.”

Dr.Smiley sluggishly got up and yawned, his eyes slowly adjusting to the light before slipping on gloves and his mask, standing beside the table and then grinned under his mask. “My my~ what kind of person am I seeing?”

Hoodie felt unnerved by the voice and said. “No killing, save him and ask normal questions. And all of his body parts remain, got it?”

“Yes yes, now leave so I can work.” Dr.Smiley waved him off. “Please go fix my door.”

With a scoff, Hoodie walked upstairs and examined the damage on the door before going to the supply closet for a screwdriver. It took some time but Hoodie replaced the door knob and the door was centered, he had to be careful too since everyone else was asleep at this time. Once the door was taken care of he walked back downstairs and looked at Smiley. “Any luck?”

“Well I switched his heart, his was failing, but that seems so odd to me..But he’s alive so all I can do is wait for him to wake up.” Dr.Smiley shrugged as he wrote his notes on a paper and moved back to his bed. “I’ll be staying up until he awakens so you can go off and do your proxy thing.”

“You sure? We don’t know how dangerous he could be.” Hoodie commented suspiciously.

“And he doesn’t know how dangerous I am.” The crazed doctor chuckled. “I’ll be fine, go on now.”

Hoodie left as instructed but now he wasn’t sure what to do, he wished he could’ve gone with Skully instead of sitting around and waiting for things to happen. Getting to the security room and joining Masky. “Hey, anything else while I’ve been gone?”

“Nope, how’s the new guy?” Masky asked, looking at Hoodie, his mask pushed to the side so he could smoke.

“Alive..but not conscious yet.” Hoodie shrugged and sat down, removing the hood for some fresh air. “How was your shift?”

“It was..fine, just fine.”

Both knew that wasn’t true, but both also know that if they wanted to talk or vent out then they would. They had nothing to hide, but things were complicated now and both were stressed, there was no reason to bear each other's stress. “We need more proxies.”

“Agreed.” Masky sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “Nap?”

“No more than ten minutes.” Hoodie agreed and set an alarm on the computer before leaning back in his own chair.

In the basement, Dr.Smiley fixed himself some coffee while waiting for the stranger to wake up, writing notes in a file he created for the newcomer. Hearing a groan he looked up from the file and saw the light blue eyes of the man open, his eyes darting around to gather his surroundings, yet seemed fully aware he wasn’t in danger. “Where am I? Who is there?”

“Rest easy. I replaced your failing heart.” Dr.Smiley replied, walking over to the man as he sat up. “My name is Doctor Smiley, you’re in the Creepypasta mansion.”

“Creepypasta..?” He asked, moving a hand over the stitching of his chest where his heart was replaced.

“A name given to us by humans, essentially we’re killers and ghosts that live here and our ownly rent is killing people.” Dr.Smiley explained with a chuckle. “Of course customizing your own room has to be done through your money or your stealing.”

“I see.” The man nodded, flexing his wings. “And, can anyone live here with those killing aspects?”

“As far as I am aware, the main rule is just not to kill others living here.” Dr.Smiley joked. “We’ve been taking all kinds of killers and strange creatures in. I’m sure Slender would love to meet you. He’s the one that owns this mansion.”

“I would like to see him then. But first, how fresh is this heart you gave me?” He asked. “My other heart only worked for two weeks.”

“Well I got it from a person three nights ago.” The doctor answered. “And Slender should return before this one fails. He went out on a trip, but you can probably pick out a room after I ask some basic questions about you.”

“Alright..I imagine the first question is my name.” He responded, watching Dr.Smiley. “You may call me Hobo Heart.”

“Interesting..and your story?” Dr.Smiley asked as he started to fill out the profile.

Slender had arrived back home by the time the sun set and the stars were out again, Ally walking with him as she tested her legs. She was shaky but able to keep up with him, and in their time together she told Slender about the asylum and they decided to call her Nightmare Ally. From the time they spent she learned how to teleport and make tendrils come from her back, but Slender warned her there could be other powers she hasn’t tried yet. As they walked into the forest together Slender did one last teleport to get them to the mansion and walked in with her. 

The mansion had many Cp’s walking around, getting food for the start of their night and Slender had Ally stay close as he went to Dr.Smiley’s basement. “Dr.Smiley?”

“Come in Slender!” The doctor called back, and Slender stepped in with Ally, surprised to see the new CP in there. “Slender we have a new CP! His name is Hobo Heart!”

“Well I have a new CP as well, and she needs to have a check up with you.” Slender said as he lightly pushed Ally closer to him. “This is Ally.”

“A very lovely girl.” Dr.Smiley chuckled as he greeted her. “Hello miss Ally, I am Dr.Smiley, I will just need to get basic information down from you.”

Ally nodded and moved to one of the empty beds, Slender looking to Hobo Heart. “Hobo Heart. Please allow me to show you to a room.”

The sky blue eyed man nodded and got off the table and followed Slender upstairs, the tall man stopping him before he got all the way up to let Sally run by. “You will have to watch your step around here.”

“Dr.Smiley has warned me. He commented that some of the guests here have poor tempers.” Hobo Heart replied.

Slender chuckled mentally. “That’s a delicate way of putting it..”

After showing the new CP to his room he teleported back to the security room, making Masky jump in his seat and put a hand over his heart. “Jesus christ Slender don’t do that!”

“How was everything while I was gone?” Slender questioned, ignoring Masky’s snipe.

“Fine..a few complications but no one is dead.” Masky replied. “And where did you go?”

“Found a new CP in Berlin.” Slender answered easily and then looked at Hoodie who was sleeping, pushing the seat forward making the hooded proxy jolt awake. “Any word from Trender or the other proxies?”

“Uh..yeah hold on..” Hoodie looked around and picked up a sticky note. “Last call was from France..”

“Understood. Keep up the good work you two, I will be looking for more proxies soon.” Slender said and left the room.

“I must’ve died, he actually thanked us.” Masky commented with a sigh.

“Forget that, he’s getting us more help.” Hoodie sighed in relief and laid his head on the table.

Slender walked back to the basement, going downstairs and nodding at Ally as she left the room. “Do you need me to help you find a room?”

“We can do that later.” Ally smiled and left the basement.

Dr.Smiley was at his filing cabinet and filing several portfolios away. “Well Slender she is an interesting CP. She will be visiting me when she gets more powers.”

“What is all this?” Slender asked as he motioned his hand to the papers and portfolios cluttering his desk. “Something about your victims?”

“Some of them..but actually I decided to make files of the CP’s staying here. Since you keep sending them to me anyways for check ups.” The crazy doctor shrugged. “So keeping track of their stories, abilities, health.”

“Thank you, Smiley. I swear I’ll find a CP that can help you with your work.” Slender promised, getting a laugh from the man.

“I know you will Slender, but let me pick, you just keep bringing killers. If any have a clue about human anatomy then let me know.” Dr.Smiley replied. “You really have something here Slender...It will take time but I really think you have a powerful family here.”

A family..that’s something that Slender hadn’t considered. He only saw this as a home for the forgotten, but if they could learn to at least tolerate each other then perhaps they are a family.


	4. Code of Conduct

Summer was quick to leave just as fall arrived, the changing of colors and the warm weather slipping into a crisp chill, more CP’s were collected at the mansion and more proxies to help find more. Slender was greatly impressed by the amount of CP’s that have been brought, Sonic.exe, Null, Grinny the cat, Lost Silver, Pig man, Bloodypainter, Puppeteer, four-eyed-jessy, and so many more. However, the more that came, the higher the tensions rose. Many CP’s were becoming territorial and more hostile to each other, it was a constant job to make sure none were fighting. With that, there were several demonic CP’s coming to their home and had far greater anger issues than most.

Thus, bringing Slender to Zalgo’s territory with one of the demonic CP’s, Shadow Lurker. The two stepping into the darker forest and Shadow Lurker looking around. “So..this Zalgo demon could provide the demonic CP’s a home?”

Shadow Lurker wasn’t insulted by Slender’s plan, knowing all too well that demons were harder to control, and that a realm such as the under realm would be a perfect place for them. Slender nodded and calmly replied. “If Zalgo agrees..but he runs things a bit more strictly then I do. But first we must wait until he realizes we’re here.”

Just as he answered the blueish skinned man, a red ring opened in the forest and Zalgo stepped out. “Slender, what the fuck are you doing in my territory?”

“Zalgo, we need to talk about the CP’s I’ve been taking in-”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Zalgo snarled at him. “I said I didn’t want to be a part of it!”

“Even if we’re like you?” Shadow Lurker questioned, stepping out to see Zalgo and to reveal himself. “So you’re the infamous demon Slender spoke of.”

Zalgo seemed confused by the CP beside his enemy, but pride swelled in his chest. “Ah? And what did he say?”

“That you’re very powerful and have a reputation for being good at deals.” Shadow Lurker continued, Slender catching on that he was buttering Zalgo up.

“I see, so what are you doing here?” Zalgo questioned. “You want to serve me?”

“A mutual agreement?” Shadow Lurker shrugged. “I live there and I kill when I need to or want.”

Zalgo now went back on his guard and looked to Slender. “So basically what you’re already doing..”

“It is up to you how you want to control them.” Slender elaborated. “But they have their needs to kill as well. Whether you get them food or a doctor is up to you.”

Zalgo crossed his arms, seeming to consider the thought before asking. “How many demonic types do you have?”

“Currently, around 15.” Slender answered. “But I figured they would be better under your care since they do not listen to me very well. Shadow Lurker here is an excellent proxy.”

A contemplating look crossed the demon’s face, his red eyes flicking between Slender and Shadow Lurker, tapping one of his index fingers on his arm. “Alright...I got an idea, we’ll have a trial period. Shadow Lurker I'll show you around first and we can bounce some ideas and rules off.”

“Sounds good.” Shadow Lurker replied and looked at Slender. “I’ll go with him, I’ll meet you back at the mansion when it’s over. I know where it’s at.”

“Understood. Zalgo, take care of him.” Slender ordered before teleporting from Zalgo’s territory.

“Fucking ass..” Zalgo grumbled before opening the red portal to his realm. “Let’s go Shadow.”

“Why do you two have such bitter friendship?” Shadow Lurker questioned but had an undertone of exasperation. “If you guys don’t like each other why do you talk?”

“Because the Council said we have to play nice or we could tip the balance with humans and apparently go into chaos, yada yada, boring bullshit excuses.” Zalgo rolled his eyes and walked through the portal after Shadow Lurker.

The CP was very impressed by the demon’s castle, while the walls and structure was a coal black, mixes of red furnishing and candles with an eerie red glow brightened the room. All in all, was a really put together fancy castle with definite demonic presence. “So, what do you do?”

“Mainly go onto the surface and make deals, wait a few days or weeks down here and then wait until they kill themselves or fail a deal and their souls are brought here.” Zalgo answered with a shrug as he began walking to his throne. “It’s honestly hilarious how many people ask for a demon's help! I mean, there were more victims from the 1900’s but I’m getting enough souls to keep my castle intact.”

“Wait, so your castle is like the mansion? Using the souls to power it?” Shadow Lurker asked as he looked around some more. “Do you devour souls like Slender?”

“Sometimes, I’m a demon I don’t need to eat if I don’t want to.” Zalgo answered, before motioning his arm to the room. “Alright, this is my throne room, I’ll admit now when I asked for a castle I didn’t realize how many rooms I would and wouldn’t use.”

“Ah, you have over a hundred bedrooms or something?” The blue demon implied, cocking a brow at the taller demon.

“Yeah, well, fifty bedrooms, throne room, a huge kitchen area, a dungeon, and then at least twenty rooms with no purpose yet.” Zalgo explained as he walked down one of the nearby halls with Shadow Lurker. “I had considered having other demons reside here, but I know very well that some demons don’t take orders well. That’s why when Slender brought up his idea of CP’s I wanted nothing to do with it.”

“I see, you’re worried that the demons or CP’s won’t hold up their part of the bargain and loiter here rather than help with anything.” Shadow Lurker summarized. “That makes sense, but if you’re as powerful as Slender proclaims then you should have no problems with control or banishing a person.”

“It’s when they fight back it gets problematic..” Zalgo mumbled. “The moment I start fighting, I can’t really stop myself.”

“Do you fear your own power?” Shadow Lurker implied, looking up at the demon as he came to a stop. 

“No, if a demon can’t control their power then they are dangerous to themselves. I fear extinction. The Council holds my life, and it’s foolish to think there isn’t someone stronger in the world that could kill me.” Zalgo replied, looking down, his red eyes swimming with a mix of anxiety and grief. “Trust me before I knew the Council, things were a lot easier.”

“Slender had mentioned the Council before but stays fairly quiet about them, are they stronger than both you and Slender?”

“Absolutely, their life goal is maintaining balance I guess, I don’t know much about them either. Never cared to learn.” Zalgo’s eyes returned to the hall and started his walk again. “All I know is they can create or destroy beings like Slender and I. Demons and phenomena, but I believe they are demons themselves from many mythological takes of human history. I was happy without them and when they found out about me, they believed my killing spree was too reckless. So, to put in short..I was forced to cut back my killings and remain observed by them.”

“Essentially, they beat you into submission and keep a whip on your back.” Shadow Lurker chuckled softly. “You and Slender have a lot more in common then I originally thought..”

“There are far more differences than you could imagine.” Zalgo snarled at him, his eyes glowing brighter as he stopped again. “Slender thinks the best way to live is by coexisting with humans and those that have fallen prey to the humans and off themselves. If we’re stronger than humans then they are no more insignificant as lambs, doing what others tell them to do to remain enslaved.”

“The strong live. I understand, that is why I don’t want to stay with Slender.” Shadow Lurker said, catching Zalgo off guard, the surprise in the demon’s eyes was a sign for him to continue. “You’re right, he has different ideas, whereas you and I believe survival of the fittest. Demons, both good and bad, desire change and a form of control either of their abilities or others. I want to live where I can kill as much as I want, without having to abide by rules of following Slender.”

Zalgo blinked, his eyes cast a shadow of confusion and then they slowly brightened to amusement as a grin appeared on his face. “I see..well then, I guess I should find you a room..”

“Let’s do that after discussing ground rules.” Shadow Lurker smirked, gaining a short chuckle from Zalgo.

On the earth realm, Slender had instructed the proxies to watch for any other possible CP’s on the news and to watch the mansion now that they had more help. In the meantime, Slender has been following an interesting teen that had caught his interest with a forsaken life-style and leaving across the forest to reach the next town. The proxies took their time to take care of themselves and the mansion, swapping out frequently to keep their strength. Since the Spring, much has changed with all the new guests, but not much has improved. Constant arguments and fights would break out, to the point where Slender told the proxies that if they couldn’t intervene without being hurt, then to stay out of it. Some CP’s fought each other, Jeff especially, and most of the time would come to a resolve.

It was a strange relationship with everyone. If they fight and call it a draw, they consider each other equals, but if one won over the other then it would be seen as a challenge for another day. Most times the fights would be seen as just a sparring match or call of dominance, to which the proxies would find juvenile, Chessmaster once commenting that this family was like a new pack of wolves. Everyone pushed together by circumstances of their own, and everyone fighting to earn recognition of a beta or alpha, those only seen as omegas would have been the ones that don’t start fights like Sally. 

“In the events I lose my freaking mind, I entrust my gun to my friend Masky to shoot me in the head..” Hoodie mumbled at one point, watching the security cameras as Dr.Smiley was trying to catch Mr.widemouth who was running around with his mask.

They had more monitors and stole more cameras just as Kate had suggested, they tried to keep at least two people in the security room at all times, but the proxies liked to have some fun. Kate, Masky, and Hoodie were in the room but Hoodie was the only one watching the cameras while the other two played rummy. At Hoodie’s comment, Masky looked up and chuckled. “And in case of emergencies, I give Kate permission to break my arm.”

She gave a small chuckle, it was a growing inside joke for the proxies that if the other CP’s get out of hand they may just lose their minds and go on a killing rampage. It was getting easier in the sense where they could pick their fights, but some CP’s didn’t respond well to being stopped in the middle of a fight. “Hey, either of you hear anything on the news?”

“Yeah..I heard something about several suicides in one town, but it could be a coincidence.” Hoodie said, turning in his chair to look at Kate. 

“I heard about it too.” Masky added, looking between the two. “I’m actually doing some online research in the morning in one of the houses in town.”

“A crime scene?” Kate asked, setting her cards face down.

“No, but I was looking up online to see if anyone had weird ghost stories and shit-”

“You looked at the Creepypasta site.” Hoodie teased, making Masky glare at him behind the mask.

“Anyways..I looked up online for anything interesting and found something called Ben Drowned that’s been stalking cleverbot and a video game.” Masky continued. “Might be worth looking into.”

“Cleverbot?” Hoodie questioned, but Kate answered for him.

“It’s a site where you talk to a computer or stranger if you’re lonely, a pervert, or a sexual deviant.” Kate shrugged. “Strange if it’s a CP on there though...think it could just be a hacker?”

“A hacker would try to get something out of people.” Masky pointed out. “Like money, secrets, more information. This person might be a killer, harassing people to their deaths.”

“Very sadistic sounding.” Hoodie agreed. “I’ll bet it’s a killer, hell a killer hacker.”

“With all the people we’ve been finding, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Masky shrugged. “That’s why I’m going to another person's place.”

“Hold on, you’re not going alone right?” Kate asked, taking off her mask. “If this guy harasses others to death you could be in danger.”

“Most of my information has been changed to deceased now, this creep wouldn’t have anything on me. Besides, if I can handle Slender’s mind numbing powers I think I can work with whatever this computer guy has.” Masky replied and moved his mask to put a cigarette in his mouth.

“He’s right, he can handle this.” Hoodie replied and turned to the camera’s. “Rouge is on her assignment right now to find a killer clown.”

“A killer clown? Sounds boring, most of the time they're just humans that lose their minds or hate kids.” Kate huffed, looking at her cards.

“Rouge said this one is different, something about this clown was said to manipulate kids, and also killing has been happening where animals and people’s guts are removed and filled with candy.” Hoodie continued, not looking away from the cameras.

“Stuffed with candy?”

“Like a pinata.” Masky huffed as he blew some smoke past his lips. “Come on, let’s continue.”

Kate nodded a little, her mask being pulled back on and continued their game, not fond of the smoke from the cigarette but held her tongue. Despite them all having a mutual respect for each other, even proxies tempers were not the best, much less for Kate and Masky. They reached a comfortable silence, Hoodie’s eyes constantly moving to watch the forest and home cameras they had set up. As the sun rose the next day, Masky kept to his word and made his way to the suburbs to see about gaining access to one of the family homes. With a stroke of luck he watched as a man left his home with his wife and kid, deciding now was time to break in. He knew that the cleverbots were random, but if he could have a couple hours, maybe he could lure the killer out. 

Ben Drowned was an interesting pick of a name, then again a lot of killers he’s met had names that reflected them. Without much of a hassle, Masky picked the lock to the back door and walked in, hurrying to find a computer. The proxies had learned a lot in their months with Slender, picking locks, vanishing, and fighting. And just as they hoped, were able to steal and scavenge guns during their kills and looting periods. After opening up the computer, Masky took off his mask and quickly pulled cleverbot up, asking over and over with every new conversation “is this Ben Drowned?”. It was becoming annoying and Masky had doubts that this killer was active during the day, making him curse and seethe in anger. 

“Fucking load of shit..” Masky growled but continued to try, until his phone started ringing and made him stop. Taking it from his pocket he read the ID as Hoodie, opening it up and answered. “Hoodie? You’re still up?”

“Yeah. I decided to look at Ben Drowned myself. Found something interesting.” Hoodie said as he looked at Tails who was next to him. “The tails doll thinks he could be traveling through cyberspace, all the suicides? Happening all over, anywhere that can access a computer. We’re probably going to have to trust this mission to a different group of CP’s.”

“Anyone in mind..?” Masky questioned as he stood and began to leave the house.

“Lost Silver and Tails agreed to help, they know the cyberworld a bit better than us.” Hoodie replied and looked at the cameras again. “Come on back, they’ll keep us informed.”

“Got it. On my way.” Masky replied before hanging up and running home.

Once arriving at the mansion, Masky entered and instantly went on guard as he heard yelling. Following the voices to the living room he saw Papa Grande holding a saw over Kagekao, a menacing grin and violent gaze in the magician’s eyes. Kagekao’s left shoulder was bleeding heavily, staining the wooden floors and using all his strength to throw Papa Grande off balance before grabbing the wine bottle on the living room table and hitting Grande’s face. The bottle broke from the impact and wine spilled onto the magician as the masked man backed away before he could be attacked, Grande’s head now bleeding from the bottle and his hat was on the floor.

Masky sighed at the mess but hurried to loop his arms under Grande’s to hold him back. “Alright enough! Fucking cool it!”

“Masky let him go, this is between him and I.” Kage growled. “Wise cracking son of a bitch-”

“Not that you’re much better you pompous, immoral-” Grande sniped back but Masky forced him aside. 

“Enough!” Masky shouted, glaring at the two. “Kagekao, get yourself fixed up. Grande sit your ass down and I’ll fix you up myself.”

“And pray tell why should I listen to you?” Grande sneered as he picked his hat up and dusted it off.

“Look, you don’t have to let me fix that gash in your head, but at least have some restraint from your bloodlust.” Masky snapped back.

“Heh..プロキシ..” Kagekao muttered in Japanese before storming off to Dr.Smiley’s basement.

Grande clearly wasn’t going to stick around long either, grabbing his saw that was dripping blood. “I’ll take care of myself thank you.” 

Masky watched as the magician left for the stairs, probably to his own room, then looked back at the filthy floor now soaked in blood and wine. Rolling his eyes he walked to the kitchen and retrieved a towel and a wet rag before walking back to the stain and started cleaning it up. It was hard enough breaking up a fight, but cleaning up after full grown killers was a pain. When Slender returns he’ll have to push the boss for the CP’s taking responsibility for their own messes. A few minutes passed until Masky got as much as he could clean up before walking to the security room.

Hoodie turned to Masky, seeing the tension in his partner's shoulders. “I heard the yelling, everything go ok?”

“More or less, when I grabbed Papa Grande and told him I would patch him off, he stormed off. Kagekao left to see Dr.Smiley.” Masky grumbled as he sat in a chair. “Seriously, Slender needs to make new rules.”

“I’ve been making a side list.” Hoodie commented, holding up a notepad.

“Wait..why the fuck didn’t you break them apart?” Masky growled at him, only getting a shrug in reply.

“I was bored and it was entertaining.” 

Masky let out an exaggerated groan and leaned back. “You are such a fucking ass!”

Hoodie let out a soft chuckle. “It was interesting to watch, Kagekao’s arm was nearly cut off and it was cool to watch the fight.”

“What were they arguing about?” Masky questioned, taking off his mask to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“I’m not sure. Something about their habits, Kage being called lazy and Grande being called a drag show.” Hoodie mumbled as he stretched his arms over his head.

“Got it..What are we going to do when we get more people?” Masky sighed a bit.

“Who knows? Slender is the one that made this place, this is his responsibility.” Hoodie replied, looking at his friend.

“Yes, but we’re responsible for the residence here..” Masky mumbled and subconsciously touched his wrist where the Slender mark had faded into his skin. “We’re not gonna be able to escape.”

“Yeah..cheers to immortality.” Hoodie scoffed and stood up. “I’m going to go check around on the borders. Need to stretch my legs.”

Masky nodded and watched him leave before taking the time to look at the notepad at Hoodie’s complaints. Smirking at a couple that connected to cleaning the house and how the cleaning needed to be shared or the responsibility of healing each other. That was something they needed, another doctor, and some fucking common sense not to have a dick competition the moment that CP’s lock eyes. He could understand the frustration that was boiling in the CP’s, being under someone’s rules and wanting to kill, but there wasn’t a point in having people here if they were just going to kill each other.

Slender walked through the dark forest, passing many forest homes, the neighborhood was quiet and was the area the teen lived. Getting closer to the house of interest he suddenly heard a scream and waited patiently as he saw the teen through the window, hacking up his mother with an axe. He watched, wondering what the boy was planning to do, but he was surprised by the answer as the inside of the house was lit on fire. Seeing this teen would be a great addition to the CP’s, he didn’t wait too much longer before teleporting inside and looking for the boy, finding him curled up with two hatchets. Looking up, the boy looked crossed in confusion and shock before Slender picked him up and teleported them out of the burning building.

Setting him back down, the teen continued to watch Slender with awe and then looked to his house with sorrow. Having read the boy's mind while carrying him, he had seen the abuse and haunting words that Toby had suffered, and how it intensified after his sister's death. “Toby, do you want a place to live?”

Toby’s eyes looked back at Slender, his cheek was damaged from the constant biting, a habit Slender hopes to get rid of. Slowly he shook his head and then Slender patted his back. “Let’s go then.”

For most of the trip, Toby was silent, only twitching by Slender’s side as they walked. The taller CP wasn’t sure what he should say to Toby, the death of his father and mother was intentional and so was setting the house on fire. The boy was at a loss yet Slender could see potential in him as a proxy, the wild card that he’s been looking for. After the sun began to rise, Toby’s footsteps staggered in exhaustion and Slender picked him up, letting the human’s head droop onto his shoulder.

“Why did you save me?” Toby finally asked, the voice catching Slender by surprise.

“Because I saw someone in need of saving.” Slender answered simply.

It seemed to be enough for Toby, the teen finally closing his eyes to sleep. Slender continued to walk, occasionally teleporting through the woods. He wondered for a moment about how the other CP’s were, it seemed every time he returned something always happened. It was almost a wish to have something bring the family together, to fight together and be forced to rely on each other, but that would be a long shot desire. Although tired and worried, Slender was focused on getting home and introducing the new proxy. 

What was this shit? Slender thought as he returned home to see mud all over the floors, currently being cleaned up by Rouge and Trenderman. “What happened here?”

“Oh hey brother!” Trender waved as he stopped moping for a second. “Uh, Smile dog and Rake were running around because neither of them wanted a bath and accidentally tracked the mess inside. Jeff managed to catch Smile and bathe him in the bathroom but Rake ran off out the back door.”

“I see..” Slender mumbled a bit, turning to Rouge as she pointed at Toby.

“Who’s he?” She questioned, looking up at the tall man.

“Toby Rogers, but he’ll be part of the proxies now.” Slender replied before teleporting to the basement, tilting his head as Dr.Smiley was operating on a human that screamed and wriggled in agony under the table's restraints. “Uh, doctor?”

Dr.Smiley looked up and chuckled, gagging his victim as he set down his bloody tools. “Ah! Slender, welcome back. I see we have a new member of the mansion?”

“Correct, I figured it would be better to have him rest here until you could take his story down and samples.” Slender said as he walked to a vacant bed and set Toby down.

“And after I get his story let you review it?” Dr.Smiley raised a brow. 

“Correct again. Thank you Smiley.” Slender nodded before moving to the stairs, only to have the doctor grab his arm and tug him back, turning to the doctor in surprise.

“Slender, a word about your..”family”, they’re a complete nightmare. I constantly have to patch everyone up and there are constant fights and things being broken. So you need to figure out what to do with them.” Dr.Smiley replied, and even with the mask in the way, Slender could tell he was frowning.

“I know, I just need to..I need to find something that they can all trust, or have a common enemy with.” Slender replied.

“A common enemy? Like what? The human race?” Dr.Smiley huffed. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but in human history banning together against an enemy only works for so long before they realize what the hell is going on.”

Slender knew that Dr.Smiley was right, but he had to figure it out himself. He tugged his arm free of the doctor and scoffed. “Doctor, I will take your advice into account, but please leave this to me.”

Reluctance was instilled in Dr.Smiley’s expression but nodded before going back to his victim and picked up a scalpel, cutting into the human’s eye. Slender left as the screams continued, nearly bumping into Rouge as she continued to clean, yet Slender stopped her and took the mop before ushering her along to help the other proxies. Trender and him cleaned back to back and his brother let out a sigh before remarking mentally to his brother. “Well brother this is an interesting family, I’ve gotten to know a few and they’re very...reclusive.”

Slender released a sigh that in turn made a fraction of tension escape him mentally. “Trender you don’t have to push yourself to compliment them, I know you’re a bit rough around the edges. I’m still trying to work this out.”

“Well, forgive me for sounding doubtful, but I think what needs to happen right now is you need to stay home for a while.” Trender replied, their telepathic conversion slowing their work pace. “I know you want to search for others, but if they travel around to kill then we’ll find more eventually. You need to hold back your ambition to please the Council and start working on the group you have currently.”

“Why do you always have to be right?” Slender responded, but not out of disdain or frustration, it was more amusement and tiredness.

“Because I know how modern kids are.” Trender commented before turning to Slender. “Seriously, they’re not going to play nice just because you’re giving them space. With most kids and teens you need a balance, with full adults you need to speak with them as such!”

“So you’re saying I should stay here and act like a father and friend?” Slender shook his head. “Sorry Trender but several of them have stabbed me or attempted to. They do not want me as a friend or father, they want me as a host and someone to not be connected to.”

“Are you sure?” Trender said, taking the mop from Slender and pushing his brother onto a leather chair before clapping his hands together. “Come on Slender wake up! Maybe you’re right that they don’t want a friend or father, but as owner of the mansion and protectors of the CP’s you need to show you can be strong enough to be their leader!”

Slender chuckled and rubbed his head. “I don’t believe they’ll want to see me as a leader either.”

“Have some confidence brother!” Trender mocked a bow before motioning his arms to the mansion. “Look at the home you’ve given them, what you’ve accomplished! Plus, a firm fist is just what we need in this manor right now. If they never see you as a friend or adult figure then that’s fine, but they should at least see you as a leader or master of the home that needs to be respected for his job.”

Standing up from his chair, Slender patted his brother’s shoulder. “Alright, alright you’ve made your point. I’ll stay and just have my proxies look around for CP’s.”

“No, no, they will remain having tasks around the manor and town but will not be travelling around. There will be no hunting for new killers, we have enough currently.” Trender arranged for him. “Killing will be on everyone’s individual schedule but it’s time to sew this family quilt in line.”

A mix of hilarity and confidence ignited in Slender as he said. “You’re right Trender, thank you.”

“Always looking out for you.” Trender nodded and huffed. “If only Offender could do the same.”

“Offender is just very reserved in his emotions just as Splendor is always trying to brush things under the rug.” Slender agreed. “But both care in their own way.”

After finishing the rest of the cleaning, Slender brought himself to the kitchen and started cooking while his brother left to explore some of the shopping centers. Sally walked into the kitchen upon hearing the sound of sizzling and pots being moved around, tilting her head as she cuddled her bear into her chest. “Slendy? You’re back!”

“That’s right.” Slender nodded, his tendrils taking great care in preparing food for dinner.

“Wow! There’s so much food!” Sally smiled as she got onto a stool on her knees and looked at the spread of pasta supplies, stir fry, pork chops with veggies, and a large bowl of salad. “Is it someone’s birthday?”

“No, I just feel sorry that I've been gone so much.” Slender replied, turning to her and patting her head before going back to cooking. “Besides it’s been a while since I’ve cooked and my brothers have been doing their best to watch everyone.”

“Can i help?!” Sally’s smile grew as she hopped off the stool and set her bear on the counter.

“Absolutely, but first can you inform the others there will be dinner tonight? Probably another 30 minutes.” Slender asked and she nodded eagerly.

The young brunette started running to the stairs, climbing up on all fours as she giggled and started crying out to the others with excitement over the feast. Slender felt himself chuckle internally before focusing on the food, but even as he cooked CP’s started to gather downstairs. A fair amount of them passed by the kitchen, drooling over the choices and then looking at Slender in surprise. It was clear that the CP’s were caught off guard by the host of the manor actually being present for dinner rather than killing or looking for CP’s. Trender was right, it was time to tie everyone together.


	5. Meet and Greet

Jeff wasn’t an angry person. He just had a hard time listening to the shit that spewed out of people’s lips, and would give into the desire of shutting them up with his knife. Unfortunately in the first few weeks of his killing spree before meeting Slender he made three mistakes, to which those mistakes found him. Slender has actually followed through on staying at the mansion, connecting with several CP’s on a personal level for the past three weeks. Of course Jeff was quick to make an excuse not to spend any alone time with other CP’s or Slender, taking frequent walks in the forest and killing almost every night. Those three mistakes however, found their way to the mansion in those three weeks.

“Slender, why the fuck are they here?” Jeff snarled slowly at Slender, staying in the next room and having Slender come over with a mental plea.

Slender tilted his head before looking into the next room to where Nina the killer, Liu Woods, and Jane the killer were sitting. All of them had claimed to know Jeff in their own way, one being a fan, another being his brother, and the last one being an enemy. When they arrived one by one he wanted to know why Jeff was trying so hard to avoid them, deciding to set up an intervention of sorts. However, after seeing them in the living room, Jeff took place hiding in the kitchen out of sight. Turing back to Jeff he shrugged. “I wanted to see how you all would react with each other.”

“You know the girls are psychotic and my brother is probably still holding a grudge against me!” Jeff snapped back but tried to keep his voice down. “No, I am not having them live under the same roof as me!”

“Jeff, think about it like this, this is a chance to have a mutual trust built. Even if you don’t want to talk to them after this, you can clarify you’re not willing to be friends or anything.” 

“I don’t think you get it..they want to kill me!” Jeff shouted, unknowingly getting Nina’s attention.

“Jeff!” A shrill voice called out and the pale killer took no time at all to run from the oncoming fanatic girl.

Slender quickly caught her and Jeff with separate tendrils and kept them apart. “None of that, I don’t need more broken furniture.”

“Slender let me go!” Jeff struggled in the tendril’s grasp, cursing himself for leaving his knife upstairs and unable to get close enough to the knives in the kitchen. 

Jane and Liu heard the commotion and made their way to the kitchen, Jane crossing her arms and cocking her hip out as she watched in amusement, but her hand ached for her knife. Liu watched for a moment to assess what was going on before stepping forward and saying. “Slender set them down, I’ll keep Nina back.”

The taller man slowly set Nina down first, Liu taking hold of her right arm tightly to prevent her from attacking Jeff. The pale killer felt his feet touch the ground and attempted to bolt out of the kitchen but was just quickly picked back up and Slender sighed. “Jeff please try to speak to them.”

“Yeah Jeff, how about you stop being a coward and actually talk shit out.” Jane glared at him with her coal colored eyes.

“Not with a woman trying to kill me!” Jeff snapped back as he looked at the three. “Much less talk with my brother!”

“Jeff, I’ve moved past the incident with your outburst, I understand why you went on a killing rampage.” Liu replied, then sent a glare at Jane. “and we’re not going to try and kill you.”

Jane rolled her eyes but took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright, we’ll chat..”

The others gathered back into the living room and the three sat while Slender patiently waited for Jeff to stop struggling and sat in his own chair while a tendril still held Jeff in the air. “Now, I already know your stories, so let’s just make sure that when I leave no one is going to die.”

“I wouldn’t ever hurt Jeff! He’s my idol!” Nina said cheerfully, her toes tapping on the floor before sending a glare at Jane. “But if she tries to hurt Jeff I will jump in to protect him! He’s my prince!”

“I’m not your prince!” Jeff snapped at her but she paid him no mind as Jane retorted.

“Right, she gets attacked and she sees him as a god, I get attacked and lose everything! Trust me, my reason for being here was to take him out!”

“Ok so that’s two..” Slender thought and then looked to Liu. “And you?”

“I have no hate for my brother, although I was hurt and mad, a part of me is whispering I should not call him my brother. I have an urge to kill as well, but not my brother.” Liu admits, the voice in his head shouting.

Slender knew this “other Liu”, a part of his childlike mind that was named Sully. Sully was the more human side of Liu, a sociopath and psychopathic personality that has developed in Liu since Jeff had traumatized him with the death of his parents followed by the fight between him and Jeff and awakening in a hospital. Sully renounced that Jeff was no longer a brother to him, his only desire was to kill, which in turn was the only outlet for Liu’s current mature behavior. He was classified as a “sane” CP in Dr.Smiley’s eyes, a CP with no ambition to harm a CP member unless in self defense or only kills as an outlet.

Dr.Smiley had begun classifying CP’s on their skills and their goals, Jane being classified as a “erratic” CP herself due to her desire of killing the unjust in the world. Rapists, criminals, and other serial killers. Yet, while having the outlet of a sane CP, she harbors resentment for one of their own and probably won’t hesitate to attack anyone that stood in her way. Thus, being classified as a “erratic” CP, dangerous if challenged but has no prejudice to the CP family. Nina was classified as an “unstable” CP, a CP who’s goals or desires rival over common sense and will not back down from a challenge or fight even if it’s another CP member. The behaviors of “unstable” CP’s are those similar to Jeff and Nina, they will react based on their instincts and personal beliefs no matter who or what they’re facing.

The basic classifications were those three terms, but they branched out into several other aspects. Who was a cannibal? Who kills for fun versus who kills for a goal or reason? Abilities such as strength, healing, disappearing, and other aspects. Slender would have to spend more time with Dr.Smiley to understand all the branches. For now he resumed his mind to the situation at hand. “Alright, Liu I’m not too worried about you, you may head to your room.”

Liu nodded and let go of Nina, who tried to jump at Jeff but was pushed back by one of Slender’s tendrils. She pouted at him but listened. “You Nina, must be polite to Jeff’s wishes, you can go to your room.”

Liu led Nina away as she grumbled about Slender being a stick in the mud, but Jane just glared at Slender. “If you’re expecting me to be nice to him you’re out of your mind.”

“I won’t ask that of you, but I do want to make a deal.” Slender said as he finally set Jeff down, but watched him in case he tried to run away.

“Like fucking hell! She wants to kill me! I can’t believe you allowed these people in here!” Jeff snarled at Slender. “One wants to kill me, one is a pain in the ass, and the other is a fan girl!”

“Oh please how is Liu a pain in the ass?” Jane scoffed. “Sure I don’t see why he forgives you, but he doesn’t hold hate to you.”

“You’re not a part of this!” Jeff shouted at her with a finger pointing at her. 

“You’re right, I’m not. I don’t want to live here, I just want to pass by if I need a place to stay. I think this place is ridiculous and that the name is even worse. Seriously, what human came up with Creepypasta?” Jane rolled her eyes.

Jeff lowered his hand before grumbling. “Keep rolling your eyes doll face, maybe you’ll find a brain back there.”

Jane gritted her teeth and moved to attack him but Slender stood between them and held her back. “Let’s just agree to this then...when you visit there will be no attempts on Jeff’s life, whatever happens outside the mansion is up to fate.”

She glared at the two, eager to kill Jeff there but knew Slender was much stronger than her. Slowly she relented and nodded, crossing her arms again. “Deal..”

Jeff was about to snap back but a tendril wrapped around his throat and prevented him from making a scene. Slender thanked her before offering a room, but she politely declined and left the mansion into the brisk fall weather. The tall man was patient, letting Jeff go as soon as Jane was away from the manor, the killer gasping and yelling up at him. “What the fuck is your problem!? You could’ve killed me!”

“Jeff, I made a compromise, whatever happens now will be based on your own skill.” Slender dismissed, beginning to walk away, only for Jeff to get in front of him.

“Hold the fuck on! Why did you make a deal like that!? You know she hates me!”

The taller CP was not in the mood but mentally sighed and replied. “I was not going to reject her from the manor, she is just as lost and hurt as other CP’s in the manor Jeff. I made that deal because I know you can handle yourself.”

Said pale killer suddenly went quiet, and even though it was tempting, Slender didn’t read his thoughts and walked past him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to see how Toby is adjusting.”

Jeff’s blood continued to boil in his veins, part of him covet to challenge Slender, but that also means he would be setting down his pride and saying that he wasn’t strong enough to go against Jane. With a sharp hiss Jeff shook his head and went upstairs to retrieve his knife before running out of the mansion, looking for a fight.

Slender stepped into the security room with high hopes of Toby working with the others, but after analysing that Toby was alone and watching TV he grabbed Toby’s shoulder. “Toby? Where are the others?”

Toby looked up from his show and smiled, now having his own mask after his skin was continually worn on his cheek, his head twitched a bit as he spoke. “They went out to check on cameras, I just decided to watch tv while I waited.”

“Toby you shouldn’t be watching TV.” Slender stated, switching it back to the camera setting. “I wasn’t even aware you could do that on these screens..”

A laugh escaped Toby as he leaned back in the chair. “These screens are hooked up to cameras and the internet, it’s not like they’re only for cameras.”

“I’m not really good with technology.” Slender admitted. “But still, if you’re not busy watching the woods then you should look around for other tasks in the house.”

“Every time I do, someone tries to kill me!” Toby exclaims, sitting up more in his seat.

“Are you purposely annoying them?” Slender questioned, getting silence from Toby. He has an odd habit of pissing people off, Slender had wondered if it was on purpose or if he was just suffering from all the stress. “Toby I told you that if you annoy people they’ll only get angrier.”

“But it’s funny hearing their threats.” Toby chuckled, his shoulder’s jerking as his head twitches when he spoke. “And it’s good exercise running from them.”

“Your job as a proxy is to help and protect the CP’s, not piss them off.” Slender sighed as he rubbed his head. “But, maybe I need to get you on some field work..”

“Like setting a place on fire?” Toby grinned at Slender. 

“I’m not sure, but it could possibly be that.” Slender shrugged. “I’ll need to think about it, no more TV.”

Toby huffed and slouched in his seat as Slender left, glancing over to the door before flicking one of the screens back onto a movie. The tall CP thought to himself about a mission, up until now all he’s had the proxies do is kill people that dared to enter the forest, or find CP’s. Getting to his office he sat in his chair and rubbed his forehead, looking at the newspaper on his desk. “Perhaps..a mission that could get us some money while also letting Toby get familiar with the others.”

The night dragged on, the fall weather was welcoming to Jeff as he walked home. His frustrations were mostly gone now, his hoodie covered with blood and his hair was ragged with a mix of sweat from some of the people he had to chase down. However, he felt relaxed now despite the frustration he had earlier, and the fall wind blew gently that was pleasant against his warm skin. It was probably early morning now but Jeff wasn’t tired, in fact since being at the mansion he’s become more nocturnal and Slender did say that most of the CP’s would become that way due to their killer habits and rituals. As fate would have it though, he didn’t get half way home before his nerves were on edge and took out his knife, clashing with another knife from the shadows of the trees.

“Fucking hell!”

“Miss me?” Jane sneered before moving away to strike at Jeff again.

“Son of a fucking bitch why are you still here!?” Jeff snarled as he deflected the oncoming blade with his own.

“Well Slender said I was welcomed anytime, and that I just couldn’t kill you in the mansion.” Jane replied casually as she grinned and struck at him again.

Their fight became a dance of rage and skill, something they both had matched equally. So while both were confident in their survival, they were just as well disappointed with their similar strength and speed. Jeff was quick to shove her off if she got to close. Just as she was able to step on his foot with her heel to get ahead of the attack. Killer blood began to boil again as Jane managed to clip Jeff’s right arm, making him switch the knife into his left hand and finally hook his right arm around hers and flipped her over his form. She let out a pained grunt but stabbed her knife into his arm before his knife reached her face, Jeff continued to push however despite the pain. Jane twisted his arm away, but the tip of his blade grazed across her cheek as she rolled to the side and got up.

Jeff grabbed her leg before she could completely stand and yanked her forward, making her trip and he took the chance to slam his elbow into her gut. Jane let out a pained gasp but before she could retaliate, Jeff had slammed her into the ground and raised the knife over his head to stab her. Jane gained her ground quickly as she grabbed his arm and twisted her body to shove him off, snarling at him. “Just lay down and die you bastard!”

“Not in this lifetime!” Jeff growled back and soon his vision was taken with red as he grabbed her neck and squeezed hard.

In turn this triggered Jane’s own survival instinct and leaned off him to get away from his hand, but he followed and sat up. Jane was quick to punch Jeff in the jaw to knock him back, but he only threw his own punch and knocked her right off him. Standing up, the pale male glared at the woman and flicked the knife, she stood up in suit but before they could charge at each other again two tendrils wrapped around their waists and lifted them up. Both let out a gasp and looked to the two slender brothers that lifted them apart.

“Well now, this is a mess.” Trender commented as he looked at the blood on the grass along with Jeff’s clothes.

“You two looked like you were ready to kill each other~” Splendor chuckled. “Come on miss, if you’re not staying at the mansion you’ll have to leave the forest.”

Jane struggled but then glared at Jeff and grumbled. “This isn’t over Jeffrey..”

Jeff struggled, barking back at her with anger. “Likewise bitch!”

Trender and Splendor walked in opposite directions, Trender muttering in annoyance. “Your blood not only ruined your clothes but is starting to trail down my tendril..”

“It’s not all mine.” Jeff grumbled as he crossed his arms. “Why did you stop us?”

“Because Slender said that this was likely to happen and he wanted Splendor and I to make sure you two didn’t.” Trender explained. “I don’t know why you attacked her, she’s very pretty.”

“She hates me because I killed her family.” Jeff replied bluntly.

“Oooh..you’re not a real charmer are you?” Trender teased lightly.

“Like you’re one to talk you pale ass telephone pole!” Jeff shouted. “Since when have you had a date?!”

“I’m not really into dating.” Trender huffed. “Besides I like looking around at clothes and seeing the humans current trends and interests. I am not a complete monster.”

Jeff rolled his eyes, not even understanding how Slender had brothers that were so different from each other. He allowed himself to be carried back but felt even more tired than when he was done killing, it was as bad as the first time he killed, when he killed his family. Trender had let him go as they reached the mansion, Jeff excusing himself for the night to get changed and showered up. Before he even got to his room however he felt himself get dizzy and collapse onto his knees, he shook his head to try and get control of his mind again but everything seemed to shut down on him. There was another person’s voice but it was muffled and distorted and someone was grabbing his shoulders and hauling him onto his feet, that’s all he remembered before losing consciousness.

Slender walked through the woods, having just finished a successful night of hunting for souls to keep him from starving. It was close to morning and he was ready to sleep, but stopped when he saw a tall and lanky figure in the distance. Walking closer Slender noticed the skeleton figure with a long stitched cape, looking around almost as if he was lost. “Are you part of the Council?”

The figure turned and tilted his head, bowing a bit and saying. “No, I am Skin taker, what is this Council you speak of?”

“Skin Taker? Interesting name..And the Council is a form of demons and creatures like us, immortal and powerful.” Slender explained briefly. “My name is Slender man.”

“Ah! Perfect, I was looking for you!” Skin Taker laughed as he took off his top hat. “I have been hearing some interesting things~”

“Oh? Like what?” Slender asked, curiosity nipping at his mind now. Was he caught? Did someone take a picture of him in the forest?

“Well there’s been many news and stories going around about killers and ghosts, and I heard about this forest and decided to see this place myself.” Skin Taker shrugged off. “Part of me wanted to see if it was human paranoia, but another part was hopeful for a place to meet others like me.”

“I see..” Slender said skeptically. “And...that’s it?”

Skin Taker grinned, showing off his sharp teeth as he chuckled again, this time darker and deeper. “You’re not easy to fool..I suppose I wanted to meet you most. After hearing about some of your stories I wanted to know if you’ve become old news like me.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow.” Slender replied. “Old news?”

“Yes, all legends like you and I are eventually forgotten by humans.” Skin Taker explained. “After a while we become forgotten and our powers weaken..”

“No, I have not been forgotten yet. But if you’re looking for a place to stay you can with my friend Zalgo or my home.” Slender advised. “Depending on where you want to be.”

“hmm..I’ll visit your place first then. I’m curious to see where you live.”

While Slender led the way, the two swapped stories of their victims and Slender explained the products to the mansion and some of the proxies he had to help around. Skin Taker seemed rather amused by Slender’s accomplishments but would say nothing against Slender’s progress or home. Once arriving, the mansion was deathly quiet, Slender explaining that most of the killers have become nocturnal now. Skin Taker took a good look around, humming in thought as he chuckled. “Very lovely, very roomy. But you mentioned that my demonic magic would be...unsafe for the others?”

“It’s possible. I always give CP’s a chance to stay here, but if they prove to be too dangerous or they decide not to go by my rules then they could try living with Zalgo or only come back if they need shelter.” Slender nodded. “But of course you can stay until you have an idea if you like this place or not.”

“I shall take you up on your offer, I also heard you say it’s protocol to meet your doctor?” Skin Taker questioned.

“Yes, although because you’re..a skeleton I don’t think he’ll take too long.” Slender replied before leading him to the basement and was surprised to see Jeff on one of the beds and tons of papers on Dr.Smiley’s desk. “Um...Dr. Smiley?”

They both walked to the desk where Dr.Smiley was face planted to the wood and snoring softly, Skin Taker released a chuckle. “Well I suppose the physical can wait until tomorrow?”

“Probably a good idea.” Slender agreed and put a hand on Skin Taker’s bony shoulder before teleporting to one of the vacant rooms. “Here you can stay in this room. Sorry about that, I figured Dr.Smiley would be asleep but I have no idea what he-”

“Slender, I’m not worried about it.” The skeleton cackled. “You don’t need to try so hard to explain everything.”

“Apologies, sometimes I feel like I have to. Especially since this family gets crazier by the day.” Slender vented out. “I’ll leave you to rest, and I have to say it’s a pleasure meeting someone who’s been around for a while.”

“Same here, and maybe I can say hi to your Zalgo friend.” Skin Taker replied as he set his hat on the bedpost and laid down. Slender left to get some rest himself, and oddly delighted that there could be others like him, CP’s that have been in the world longer or just as long as him.

By the next night, Jeff woke up and noticed his dim surroundings and after glancing around he figured out quickly he was in the basement. Dr.Smiley was drinking coffee and looked up as Jeff sat up slowly. “Oh good you’re up! How do you feel Jeff?”

“Tired I guess.” Jeff shrugged as he rubbed his head. “What the hell happened to me?”

“Oh you passed out, your adrenaline levels were very high, you kind of crashed.” Dr.Smiley replied as he stood up and walked over to the killer. 

“Who is the one that brought me here?” 

“You can thank Kagekao for that.” Dr.Smiley chuckled. “Even though he was being really grumpy about it he carried you down here.”

“So..the reason I passed out was because of an adrenaline high?” Jeff questioned. “I don’t remember much of it other than fighting with Jane and then Trender bringing me back.”

“I see..well i’m still looking into it, you’re free to go if you feel ok.” Dr.Smiley walked back to his desk and continued to organize the hill of papers that he’s accumulated on his desk.

Jeff nodded before getting off the bed and started walking out of the basement, Dr.Smiley watched carefully before thinking to himself. “Slender could you come down please?”

It was odd requesting Slender with his mind and not out loud but it was something he would have to get used to. No more than a few seconds after he called the man of the manor, the tall man teleported down and tilted his head slightly. “I see you’re well rested.”

“If you count well rested as passing out on my desk, then yes I am well rested.” Dr.Smiley countered before picking up a clipboard of Jeff’s papers. “But I’m actually here to talk about something else. Jeff crashed last night due to an adrenaline high.”

“But that’s normal right? Most people crash when they are in fight or flight mode.” Slender inquired.

“I would say yes if his adrenaline didn’t nearly send him into a coma.” The doctor replied, flipping through the pages a bit. 

“That’s very odd..” Slender agreed and cupped his chin. “Any theories?”

“Well..I have one but it seems a bit far fetched.” Dr.Smiley shrugged a bit as he read off from the report. “The adrenaline high state was amplified by the killer’s desire or goal, when triggering fight or flight they experience a normal increase of adrenaline, but then goes over the top if riding on their adrenaline.”

“So what your theory is...that Jeff was only using his adrenaline to fight?” Slender asked, trying to summarize.

“Something like that. Like I said, I have no solid evidence yet. But Jeff was able to use his adrenaline as extra energy, but once getting home all that energy couldn’t go anywhere and resulted in him crashing.” Dr.Smiley explained further. “He said he couldn’t really remember the whole fight, and that he’s felt this before.”

“There’s not much we can do but watch right?” 

“Unfortunately yes. Unless you want to try and read his mind.” Dr.Smiley suggested. “I’m not 100 percent sure how your mind reading works, if you can feel the adrenaline high, but it might be worth looking into.”

“I won’t be able to do that.” Slender denied instantly. “If I can feel the adrenaline high then there’s a chance I could put both of you in danger. Just keep me in the loop, if I need to read someone’s mind then I will.”

“Got it. Also, your friend skin taker..Well I couldn’t get much but a story from him earlier today.”

“I didn’t expect you two, but I figured it would be good to have some form of record from him.” Slender replied and then asked. “Was something wrong?”

“Oh no, nothing bad. Just, I think I have another class of CP’s.” Dr.Smiley grinned as he grabbed Skin Taker’s file. “Legendary class. CP’s that have been around longer than you and are really hard to defeat.”

“Interesting, where is Skin Taker anyways?” 

“I have no idea, after meeting with me he just left.” Dr.Smiley set the file aside as he turned to Slender. “Look, I know your plate is full and you’re taking your brother’s advice, but with how many people are getting wounded I need another set of hands here.”

“I haven’t really stumbled on anyone with medical experience. I’ll keep looking but so far no candidates have popped up.” Slender promised as he started walking to the door.

His shoulders felt tense once more, and a headache started forming as well on his temporal lobe. Slender teleported to the kitchen and started prepping some hot water for tea, but hearing footsteps approaching the kitchen he readied himself for more problems. Hoodie was the one to enter and he looked at the tea pot then to Slender. “Rough morning?”

“You could say that.” Slender replied as he grabbed a tea cup. “Do you need something?”

“Toby said you implied on sending us on field work. I was curious if you decided.” Hoodie responded politely, watching Slender under his hood as the tall man retrieved a tea bag.

“Not yet, but I want something that can give you both challenges and also be useful. I was going to look into some crime rings.” 

“Crime rings? Are you sure you want to put Toby up to something like that? Plus, why go after gangs?” Hoodie questioned, his concern clear in his voice but Slender wasn’t sure what part he was concerned about most.

“I think he can handle it with you and Masky. Crime rings are nothing but low-lives just trying to make money on others' misery, if I find one that has been collecting money for a while then we would get money and Toby would have experience.” Slender answered as he poured the hot water into the tea cup.

“Ok I can see how that works..” Hoodie mumbled to himself. “Should I look into some black markets then?”

“Probably a good idea, but I don’t want it to be across the ocean. The closer you boys are the better, that way if there’s an emergency I can get to you faster.” Slender nodded as his skin tore on his face to reveal his mouth.

The look, let alone the sound, of the pale skin tearing made goosebumps run up Hoodie’s arms. He casted his eyes to the floor and answered. “Alright. I’ll take a look into it and bring some options later.”

“Sounds good.” Slender agreed, taking a sip of the tea while Hoodie left, the tall man just trying to decide what to do next.

In the under realm, Zalgo was speaking with Skin Taker, a newer member of the CP group. There he sat on his throne and listened to the cackling skeleton, he was an odd one but not entirely unwelcome. Shadow Lurker stood beside Zalgo as he listened to the new CP, his guard up and uncertain on how to feel with this newcomer. Skin Taker continued to talk until he was finished with certainty, Zalgo releasing a sigh. “So..You broke into my castle with your 4th wall break ability..to ask me if you could stay here?”

“That’s right!” Skin Taker nodded, taking off his hat and bowing. “I can tell I would fit in much better here then I would with a bunch of young immature teens. Besides, I could be of some use to you.”

“Really? Explain.” Zalgo ordered as he stood up and started walking closer.

“Well I could make you a portal between realms. I can also provide you with some interesting items~” Skin Taker said as he pulled a jewel out of his hat. “This is a garnet with some very interesting qualities.”

“Garnets are not magical.” Shadow Lurker quipped as he glared at the skeleton.

“Ah, to the eye yes, but this garnet is from the bronze age. Held for many years at a museum that was constantly visited by spirits.” The skeleton chuckled. “What I offer is a chance to find other CP’s, demons, and rare relics like this.”

Zalgo was not a man of collection, it was trivial to him, but he couldn’t deny having demons lured here wouldn’t be bad. He could either trap them for his own uses or kill them so he remained a threat in the world. The large demon grinned at the skeleton, stopping a couple feet away before holding out his large hand. “You have a deal. I let you stay, you get me a portal and some more of these relics.”

“Of course, the humans don’t need them. They don’t even know how to use them.” Skin Taker joked lightly, gaining a chuckle from the demon lord.

“Shadow Lurker, could you show our guest to a room? I should tell Slender about this.” Zalgo said, getting a nod from the shadow CP and opened a portal to the earth realm. “Good game Slender, roping me into this, but you still owe me a favor~”


	6. You Owe Me

“Thank you for informing me about this Zalgo. I am honestly surprised you took him in.” 

Slender and Zalgo were sitting in the conservatory, Slender drinking his tea as he thanked the demon lord. The grinning demon resisted the urge to roll his eyes, having told Slender everything except the gem that Skin Taker had shown him. “No problem Slender, it would only have bit me in the ass later.”

“That’s true, especially since you wanted no part of this for awhile..why the change of heart?” Slender asked curiously.

“Oh well, it’s nice to talk to others, you said Skin Taker was classified as a legendary too. He seems to know how to make good deals and play careful.” Zalgo waved off. “It’s odd there are others like us the Council never mentioned..”

“They have mentioned others are like us.” Slender explained in the Council’s defense. “They just never told us who they were out of privacy and protection. But it’s possible a majority were not saved by the Council and creatures like Skin Taker were made by their own demons.”

“Why do you have to explain like that?” Zalgo grumbled a bit and then crossed his legs. “Anyways, I came for another reason..remember 2002?”

Slender set his cup down before snipping back. “Zalgo, we agreed not to-”

“I know.” Zalgo cut off. “We’re not going into the SCP foundation..But on the other hand, can you figure out what those poor SCP’s are going through?”

“Zalgo we’re not going to break any out.” Slender growled this time. “The foundation has been able to capture many types of SCP’s and while we might be strong they have enough gadgets and people to pin us.”

“But wouldn’t it be helpful to have some power on our side? Besides, with all the new CP’s you have breaking in and out will be easy.” Zalgo sneered. “Unless of course you have a more personal reason for hiding from them?”

“No, I am just not going to sacrifice anyone to break them out..eventually there will be a breach, that’s why the Council wants us to keep our heads down.” Slender sighed, rubbing his head. “I understand you don’t want them to be trapped in there, but SCP’s and CP’s are not the same. SCP’s kill for the sake of no control and selfish purposes. CP’s kill for goals they have in mind and to let out their agressions.”

“The humans are scumbags, Slender.” Zalgo snarled. “That foundation has been up longer than we have, you think there will be a breach now?” 

“I won’t deny that, but you also forget that many SCP’s have the capability to destroy us and the world. I’m sorry Zalgo but I don’t share the same hate as you towards humans, I can’t just have a bunch of SCP’s loose because of your vendetta.” Slender replied calmly. “Is there a reason you’re bringing this up?”

“Well, you still owe me a favor.” Zalgo huffed as he sat back in his seat. “I was trying to see if you were willing to get into some nasty trouble.”

“Absolutely not.” Slender scoffed and sipped his tea again. “Look, in regards to your favor, I would prefer it if it didn’t risk our lives.”

The demon grumbled, realizing he would have to come up with a different favor to ask. “Alright..how are the CP’s? Skin Taker mentioned them being immature.”

“Some are, but Dr.Smiley has theorized some interesting ideas about their behaviors, I’m simply trying to guide them now.” Slender answered simply, getting a cruel chuckle from Zalgo.

“So what? You’re a father now? Holy Hell Slender.” Zalgo teased. “I mean I understand being lonely but that’s just borderline desperate.” 

“I’m merely trying to connect to the CP’s.” Slender replied sharply. “If you have nothing else to ask from me then I would like it if you’d leave.”

“Fine, I will. But when I ask my favor I don’t want you pulling out some lame ass excuse, got it?” Zalgo huffed and stood up.

“So long as it’s within conditions I won’t be worried about it.” Slender said coldly. “Until next time Zalgo.”

Said demon opened a portal before stepping through and vanishing into the air, Slender taking this time to try and relax his tense back. There was still a lot to do, and he couldn’t be sitting here for too much longer. His first priority was a mission for the boys, he leaned back in his seat and mentally called to Hoodie. “Hoodie? Anything yet?”

“Ok I would love it if you didn’t do that. You scared the hell out of me.” Hoodie’s voice came in reply.

“Sorry, but do you have anything yet?”

“It’s not that easy to track gangs and rings sir, but I think I found someone that sells drugs. I’m still looking for a bigger target.” 

“That’s alright, I don’t want it to be anything risky, just productive.” Slender responded as he stood up from his chair and left the conservatory, which echoed with the rhythm of rain outside.

Walking to the kitchen to clean his cup, he started hearing Dr.Smiley’s laughter at the front door, a rare sound if he wasn’t cutting up a victim. He washed the cup, hearing the doctor get closer and then looked to the main entrance as Dr.Smiley walked inside, flicking off some water from his body and a figure came inside after him. It was a man wearing a blue hoodie and blue mask with black abysses where his eyes should be, wearing blackish-grey pants and black shoes. Slender’s interest peaked now, walking over to them and asking. “Smiley, who is this?”

“Ah! Slender, I found my new apprentice!”

“I’m not an apprentice, I just said I had medical experience.” The newcomer said quickly. “I’m called Eyeless Jack, but you can call me EJ or Jack.”

“Eyeless Jack, that explains it..” Slender mused before holding his hand out. “I am Slenderman, owner of this mansion which houses the CP’s.”

EJ was polite and took his hand to shake, but even without eyes and a mask covering any expression, Slender could see hesitation. After their hands let go of each other from the shake, Slender asked. “So you’re going to assist Dr.Smiley?”

“I suppose so, I mean, I have my own hunting to do but I know enough medical training to help.” The eyeless man replied with a shrug. “However, I don’t really..work well with others. I’m more of a lone wolf.”

“I respect that. I understand all CP’s have their own schedules. But it would be helpful to have another doctor.” Slender replied and then looked to Smiley. “Are you going to make a file for him?”

“Of course! Come along Jack, i’ll show you my work station!” Dr.Smiley replied enthusiastically as he started walking to the basement, EJ following quietly.

Slender had a good feeling about that CP, despite not reading his mind or anything. It wasn’t too long after EJ departed with the crazed doctor that Hoodie ran out of the security room and tracked Slender down. “Slender! I got the group!”

“You do? Who exactly are the candidates?” Slender asked, turning to Hoodie.

“It’s a group that works in the nearby city, about a 30 minute drive. Apparently they have a habit of being loan sharks and several thefts.” Hoodie replied. “Does that sound promising?”

“Very promising, have Masky, Toby, and yourself over there by tomorrow's sunset.” Slender ordered as he started walking past him.

“Sunset? Sir, we don’t have a car-”

“Then steal one.” Slender answered simply, leaving Hoodie there to contemplate.

In that moment, Hoodie walked back to the security room and stepped inside, speaking out to Masky who was sitting in one of the chairs. “Slender wants us to steal a car for our mission.”

“Shit are you serious?” Masky looked over. “First, he actually approved of this gang? And second, steal a car? I don’t know how to hot wire that shit.”

“We might just have to hijack someone.” Hoodie shrugged. “And yes, he wants us to be at their location by tomorrow’s sunset so we better rest up before the three of us go.”

“Wait, three?” Masky mumbled as he stood up. “Who the hell are the three of us?”

“You, me, and Toby.” Hoodie answered, crossing his arms. “Slender’s orders.”

“Fuck! Come on man, Toby’s a complete nightmare!” Masky snapped, his hands gripped his brown locks with the threatening force to rip the roots out. 

“Masky he’s not that bad.” Hoodie attempted to defend the newer proxy. “He’s a little weird but he’s a good kid.”

“He’s a pyromaniac, clumsy, and practically has the mind of an 8 year old.” Masky groaned as he let go of his hair and took his mask off.

Throwing the hood over his head, Hoodie sat down and sighed. “Masky just give him a chance. We know he’s a little annoying at home, but maybe he’ll be a great proxy when tracking people.”

“We’ll see..” Masky rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh. “If he fucks this up I’ll kill him.”

“I would love to see you try.” Hoodie mumbled as he put his hood up again. 

“You think I can’t beat that scrawny kid?”

“I’m saying he’s too slick for you to kill, while you’re strong, he has..well he’s just very quick.” Hoodie shrugged off as he looked at the screens. “And he’s not a kid, he’s around 20 years old.”

“If he would act like one..” Masky grumbled to himself.

The night ended and by the time the next day came and left it was already 5:20pm and the three proxies chosen for their mission were in a parking lot of a supermarket. It wasn’t surprising, people being there right before dinner or shopping last minute, Masky and Hoodie searching the cars for an easy pick while Toby kept an eye out for the car owners. Other than having to occasionally duck behind a large truck, the search of a car was going smoothly, except that they were getting antsier every minute.

“Guys over here.” Hoodie waved them over, finally opening one of the doors to a tan mercury topaz ford car, slipping into the driver's seat as Toby quickly called shotgun and slid into the passenger seat. 

Masky was not in the mood to argue and slipped into the back seat as Hoodie started to hot wire the front, a talent he had to learn all night. “Hoodie maybe you should let me drive, you’ve been up for a while.”

“No, I'll be alright, it’s not my first all-nighter. Plus I’m the only one that knows the location and I don’t know if you or Toby will get lost.”

“Wow, such great faith.” Masky huffed, crossing his arms.

“Hey I found a gun!” Toby exclaimed as he held up the silver revolver, his eyes shining with interest. “There’s also bullets here!”

“Toby put it down!”

“Give it to me!”

The proxies fought over the gun and eventually Masky took charge of it, making the younger proxy pout. “I wasn’t going to shoot anyone..”

“Doesn’t matter.” Masky snapped back. “Right now I don’t really trust you holding a firearm after you set the kitchen on fire.”

“What? I put it out.” Toby claimed as he looked over the seat.

The car finally revved and Hoodie got into the driver's seat as he put the car in gear and started driving out of the parking lot, sighing in relief that they still had time before sunset. The drive was a little shaky at first, everyone looking around to make sure no one saw the car being stolen, along with watching for the police. If a cop caught a glimpse of three mask wearing people driving a car towards the highway, they wouldn’t hesitate to pull them over. After about 10 minutes and safely reaching the highway, everyone relaxed and Masky was examining the gun. “Hmm, 357 caliber. Haven’t shot this type before.”

“It’s going to have one hell of a kick.” Hoodie commented, keeping his eyes on the road.

“It might not be that bad, typically the larger the gun the less the recoil.” Masky replied. “It is a little hefty though.”

“I’ve never shot a gun before!” Toby said, handing some ammo to Masky. “I want to use it first!”

“No way, you should practice with a smaller caliber first.” Masky huffed, but took the ammo and loaded the six slots. “Hoodie, anything we should know about these people?”

“Nothing special, they’re not a famous group or anything but they are loan sharks, so I would imagine they have some form of guns or knives. Hell brass knuckles? They’re pretty quiet about their deals, I was only able to find out about them from some news articles, apparently they have a habit of mugging the people they help.”

“That’s a fucking rip off.” Masky scoffed but then shrugged. “I suppose that is their way if it’s not enough money or they’re taking loans.”

“So..where do they meet?” Toby questioned, looking at Hoodie.

Hoodie glanced to the proxy before replying. “I contacted them for a meeting, we’re going to see them at Ridgefield.”

“Wait, you made contact with them?” Masky interrupted, leaning forward to look at Hoodie. 

“With Kate’s help.” Hoodie confirmed with a nod. “We set the meeting to 6:30pm, Ridgefield’s sugar mill.”

“Sugar mill? Sounds fun~” Toby smirked as he took out his match set. “Can I burn it down?”

“I guess so. Slender just wants us to get cash, we’re not leaving survivors either.” Hoodie answered and then looked at Masky. “Sit back, you’ll hurt yourself.”

Masky did lean back but then grumbled. “If we’re going to meet them at the mill that probably means it’ll just be a selected few. Only one of us should meet them, the other two can stay back and find a position to attack from.”

“Think you can handle using that gun?” Hoodie asked, glancing over his shoulder. “You and Toby can hang back and I can meet with the boss.”

“Sounds good..when do you think we’ll arrive?” Masky asked, his eyes looking out the window.

“Before 6:30 hopefully. In the meantime hang tight.” Hoodie replied, lowering his window to get some fresh air.

“Are we going to pick up food on our way back?” Toby asked eagerly, bouncing in his seat. “We could probably hit burger king on the way back!”

“Probably not Toby, honestly we should try to get this mission done as soon as possible and then get home.” Hoodie did his best to sound reasonable but Toby only pouted and leaned against the door.

The car ride was silent, not in a way that the tension was between the proxies, but the upcoming mission left them all thinking. Would this work? How would they work together on this? What was the plan? All three thinking simultaneously but staying silent with their questions and concerns. As the time slipped by, they managed to reach the sugar mill a good 20 minutes before their meeting, the guys sitting in the car as they examined the building from their spot.

“Looks like we can get to the next floor from one of the conveyor belts. Once we’re in we can wait above them, if there’s a sign of trouble then Toby and I can jump down.” Masky reasoned as he pointed to the large conveyor belt.

“Are you sure? That’s going to be a bit of a drop.” Hoodie commented. “I mean, Toby will probably be fine but you might twist your ankle.”

“Wow, loving this overwhelming faith.” Masky replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“He doesn’t have to drop down! If he has a gun then he can just shoot them.” Toby said as he held up his hatchets. “I’m the only one that has to be close.”

“That’s the other thing.” Hoodie added. “I will have to be close too, but most likely they will be a good distance from me so I won’t be able to attack in time.”

“Then take cover somewhere.” Masky reasoned. “If you find a good place to duck behind then Toby and I can take care of them. There probably won’t be more than three or four people.”

Hoodie thought about it before nodding and taking a sigh he opened his door, stepping out. “Ok let’s get this over with.”

Toby was practically bouncing in anticipation as they were walking to the mill, it was in good condition, but because it was Sunday it might have been closed for the day. Lighting was off in the mill but the half moon outside provided some light and Hoodie carried a flashlight with him. The younger proxy quickly ran up the large conveyor belt, Masky rolling his eyes before climbing up after him and Hoodie walked to one of the side doors before using his crowbar to open the doors. Toby continued to climb the belt before slipping into the building and jumping onto the cat-walk and looking down at Hoodie. “Hoodie! Is this a good spot?”

Hoodie looked up before examining the area, taking his place by a large silo-like container. “Yeah, so long as you have an open spot.”

Masky climbed onto the cat-walk with Toby before walking down the path to get a good view of the base floor of the mill. “Looks good from here. What kind of signal should there be for an emergency?”

“How about fuck?” Hoodie said coldly. “Masky I think you’ll be able to tell if I need help if I duck out of the way.”

“I found a way down!” Toby claimed as he grabbed onto a hook that was connected to a chain to the roof, his arm twitching from the sudden jolt in his shoulder.

“Ok, just stay hidden for now Toby.” Masky ordered as he ducked down on the rail. “It’s dark enough up here so long as they don’t turn on the lights we’re good.”

Hoodie nodded and checked his phone. “They should be showing up soon..”

Toby ducked down fast when the sound of the side door opened with a loud creak, Hoodie turning with the flashlight to see one man stepping in with his hands raised. Two more men followed in, one carrying a flashlight as well and the other carrying a briefcase. The first man looked at his phone as he spoke. “Are you uh..Joel?”

Having forgotten the fake name for a minute, Hoodie was about to say no before remembering and nodding. “I am. And you guys-”

“We’re the loaners, don't worry.” The second man spoke with a very modulated voice. “I’ll find the light switch.”

“Don’t bother.” The third spoke, with a deep and almost sadistic tone. “We just need a bit of information then we can all leave.”

“He’s right.” Hoodie quickly agreed, standing his ground as they walked to him. “I just need to finalize this for my brother and myself.”

“Some sort of legal issue right?” The leader spoke. “People threatening to separate you two? You’re making the right call. You see, I have $5,000 bucks on me now, the main rule here is so long as you can pay that back with a little interest we’ll have no problems.”

It was a pathetic call, but only the most desperate go to loan sharks for this kind of thing. Keeping up the act, Hoodie nodded and watched the briefcase being placed on one of the barrels in the mill, being opened to reveal some papers. “I understand.”

With a smirk the third man took out the papers and handed them to Hoodie. “Just read and sign and we’ll have an agreement.”

The hooded man pretended to read the papers as his brown eyes flicked up to see Toby, who was looking antsy and slowly moved a hand out to grab the hook that dangled from the ceiling. Hoodie handed the paper’s back, getting a confused look from the men before Hoodie took out his phone and pretended to look over it. “Sorry it’s my brother. Mind if I give him a call?”

A puzzled look crossed the leader’s face but nodded, Hoodie feeling the eyes on him as he walked behind the large silo-like container and staying back there as Masky stood up and aimed the gun down at the leader. There was no warning, his finger squeezed the trigger and as the loud bang echoed in the room, Masky’s wrist shaking a bit from the recoil. As the shot fired and the leader fell, the second man took out a gun of his own and shot up into the darkness where Masky was, the proxy ducking down and running along the walkway for safety. Toby leapt from his spot and hung onto the hook as it dropped down from Toby’s added weight, the younger proxy laughing as he dropped and a hatchet met the neck of the third man. The second man turned and fired in a state of panic, clipping Toby in his shoulder but was just as quickly met with another hatchet to his head. 

The body went lax and Toby yanked the hatchet from the man's skull, his body felt no pain from the bleeding wound on his shoulder. He ignored the blood and waved up to Masky. “We’re good now! They’re dead!”

Masky stepped back into view and huffed, flicking his right hand to shake off the soreness left from the gun’s recoil. “That was a little too easy for me..”

Hoodie stepped into the clearing and looked at the bodies before looking to Toby and instantly going to his side. “Fuck Toby you’re hurt.”

“I am?” Toby asked, looking at his shoulder before putting his hatchets into his belt loops that were designed to carry his hatchets. “It’s nothing, the bullet went through, I can’t even feel it.”

This response caught Hoodie and Masky off guard, how the hell couldn’t he feel it? Masky quickly found the stairs and climbed down as Hoodie continued to look over Toby’s wound. “We should find a place to stay to get this patched up.”

“Right..where can we get the supplies?” Masky questioned as he began looting the bodies for anything useful, handing the gun from the second man to Hoodie.

“Maybe there’s a first aid in the car?” Toby shrugged, even moving his shoulder didn’t seem to trigger any pain to Hoodie’s surprise. 

“Let’s go check.” Hoodie said before grabbing the phones left on the men and started walking back to the car with Toby.

Arriving at the car, Masky stashed the money and supplies into the trunk after Hoodie and Toby concluded there was no first aid kit. Before leaving, just as promised, Hoodie helped Toby set fire to the mill before running back to the car to avoid being caught in the flames. Toby took the back seat this time, his shoulder poorly wrapped up by a towel found in the trunk, and laying on his back while Masky took the driver's seat and Hoodie sat in the passenger seat. The drive was quiet, all the while Hoodie continued to look over his shoulder at the wounded proxy, who surprisingly was sleeping. Masky looking in the mirror and seeing the fire growing, even watching as some fire trucks sped by while on the road towards home.

“We need to stop somewhere to get a medical kit.” Hoodie stated quietly to Masky, watching his friend clench the steering wheel.

“I know..I think there’s a pharmacy up ahead. We’ll stop by and grab a med-kit before going home. It’s safer if we just fix him up in the car and not stop.” Masky replied quietly, Hoodie nodding in agreement.

It didn’t take long to find the pharmacy, Masky electing himself to get the med-kit while Hoodie waited in the car with Toby, using some of the money they stole to pay for the supplies and rushing back to the car. Surprisingly, no one questioned his mask or dirty attire, the lack of mentioning made Masky feel human for once. Handing the med-kit to Hoodie, the hooded proxy pulled his hood off to see clearly while Masky flipped the car light on for a better look. Toby was still asleep, being considered fortunate as Hoodie began to apply medicine to the wound before taking a needle and began stitching the hole together again. The boy twitched in his sleep with occasional groans, but Hoodie managed to finish wrapping the wound with gauze before looking to Masky.

“He should be alright, we should head home though, I want Dr.Smiley to take another look.” 

“Got it..” Masky nodded and waited for Hoodie to climb back into the passenger seat before starting the car and drove back to the main road.

The silence was not uncomfortable, but it was not welcome either. Hoodie leaning against the door and letting his body relax while Masky continued to drive, only glancing back to check on Toby’s condition. Knowing it would still be a while before they got home, Masky put on the radio on a low volume to not disturb the others, listening to the broadcast about the random fire that started at the sugar mill. Masky knew that if the police looked at the burned corpses that they could identify them with dental or physical traits, but they wouldn’t care about them being loan sharks. They couldn’t keep the car either, with there being a certain chance of tire tracks they would have to leave the car before getting home.

As the night rolled on, eventually Hoodie closed his eyes to rest, Masky thinking about waking him up soon but stopped as he heard a yawn from behind him. Toby sat up, taking off his goggles and rubbing his eyes before leaning forward and looking at Masky. “Are we almost home Masky?”

“Close, but we need to abandon the car before we get home.” Masky stated as he kept his eyes on the road.

“Why not just take it with us?” Toby asked, leaning on the center console. “Not like anyone will find it if we take it.”

“Because the police will look for it. We’ll stop by a parking lot and set it on fire or something.” Masky shrugged off before mumbling out. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Doesn’t hurt.” Toby replied calmly before smiling and chuckling. “Can we please go to burger king?”

Masky was going to push the idea off quickly, however he was hungry himself, and they did do a good job so why not reward themselves a bit? “Sure. Wake up Hoodie.”

“Yes!” Toby cheered before grabbing the back of Hoodie’s seat and shaking it violently. “Hoodie wake up! Wake up!”

The combined yelling and shaking was enough for the hooded proxy to wake up, startling awake before removing Toby’s hands from the seat. “Holy shit Toby, what?”

“We’re going to burger king!” Toby cheered as he shuffled in the back seat, seemingly unaffected by the wounded shoulder.

Even with the hood, Masky could sense that Hoodie was staring at him and muttered. “I’m hungry too ok?”

Hoodie said nothing but smiled under the hood, leaning back and then said. “Well, we’ll still have over $4,000 to bring back to Slender, he can’t blame us for a meal.”

The three quickly grabbed their food before driving to a nearby parking lot that was nearly empty, being that the bank that owned the lot was closed. They ate, Toby glorifying their victory more than the older two, but we’re all talking about what they could have done differently to avoid injury next time. After they finished their food, they looted the car and Toby proceeded to break a nearby atm until it opened up and he was able to grab money out of it. Hoodie wasted no time to shoot the outdoor cameras as Masky set the car on fire, the three quickly running off into the night towards the forest. Because it wasn’t past 8pm yet, they knew the police or fire department would be on the scene very quickly with the fire growing from the car, thus they had no time to waste.

Getting to the forest and walking now, the three caught their breaths as Toby carefully touched his shoulder. While he couldn’t feel the pain he could tell that the stitching was undone. “I think I’m bleeding again.”

Hoodie took a moment to slow them down and check before sighing. “Yep..you’ll have to let Dr.Smiley look. I don’t understand, how come you can’t feel pain?”

Toby’s head twitched a bit, probably making his wound worse as the twitch made his shoulders jerk. “I don’t know, I’ve never been able to feel pain.”

“That’s odd..maybe we should talk to Dr.Smiley about it.” Hoodie commented, glancing at Masky for an opinion but the masked man was simply staring up at the stars.

“Well, I’m going to see what Kate and Rouge are up to.” Masky stated, finally looking ahead of him and grumbled. “Do you think we’ll ever get checkpoints letting us know if we’re close to the mansion?”

“If we did that then humans could find us.” Hoodie scoffed. “Besides, I think blood trails and Slender’s notes are enough.”

“How does he know if people take them?” Toby asked, smirking to himself. “For that matter, why do people take them?”

“Who the fuck knows?” Masky groaned out as he stretched his arms up. “As for how he knows it’s because he checks on them nightly.”

“It’s not exactly his notes..Kate is the one that made them.” Hoodie replied. “When she went nuts in the first place.”

Toby laughed and continued to ask questions about the proxies, to which Hoodie would happily answer for him. Masky took out a cigarette and moved his mask up as he smoked, thinking about their night overall. It was clear there would be more missions like this, they needed money, especially for food and any room upgrades that needed to be done. However, even if Toby was a little irritating, Masky couldn’t deny that the young adult had some skill. With his ability to kill, be stealthy, and somehow not feel pain that gave the proxies the wild card that Slender has been searching for. There was still much more to do, more to understand about each other, yet this no longer felt like a fate of hell. This felt like a partnership, a team.


	7. Associates? Allies?

Eyeless Jack wasn’t sure what he thought about the mansion yet. It has only been two days since arriving and he mainly just spent the time talking with Dr.Smiley. He wasn’t in the mood to eat just yet so he started wandering the mansion to see the others, of course his distant nature made it hard to approach others. EJ was more confident observing from a distance anyhow, especially since those that did look his way would just look away in disgust. In the time he has been watching the other residents of the mansion he’s come to the conclusion that most were insane or very aloof, or as Dr.Smiley classified, Insane or Erratic. It wasn’t a bad way to keep the CP’s memorized, but EJ was not thrilled about the idea of being named like a test subject.

Dr.Smiley was kind enough to not only give classifications, but to give an idea about certain relationships in the manor. Slender and Zalgo’s odd relationship, Jeff and his very violent tendencies, the more animalistic monsters like Smile dog and Rake. The list continued on and EJ could only remember a selected few, however he could figure it out on his own. Walking outside, finally bored of watching the CP’s and enjoying the cold forest air as he took off his mask to clean some of the tar off. During his peaceful walk he decided on exploring the borders of the forest, after all if he got to know the territory more than he could learn how to hunt people in the area. Breaking into homes would only work for so long before he finds a bullet in his head or cops surround him.

After maybe a good mile, EJ slowed down to examine his surroundings, there wasn’t much to see other than the fence line and trees. He wasn’t expecting a lot from this walk, but he was expecting to see more than trees, abandoned cars and buildings, and dead bodies from CP hunts. The forest didn’t feel enchanted so why was it that everyone was so afraid of this place? Or drawn to it for that matter? As he continued to walk he stopped when he heard a scream in the distance, unknowing if it was another CP or a human he stilled for a moment to listen longer for another scream. The scream dissolved and EJ was now left on guard as he stalked through the woods, the scream had been replaced with a crunching and squishing sound. Getting to the source of the noise, the eyeless cannibal was shocked by a large creature covered in brown and greenish fur like a lion's mane. 

“What the..hell..?” EJ mumbled softly as he watched the creature consume a human body, it couldn’t even be identified as man or woman with just the limbs left on the grass but it was small so it would be a child.

Somehow, the creature had sensed his presence, it’s large unidentifiable head turned to the eyeless CP and it’s claws moved off from the human carcass. Running would be out of the question, fighting it he may have a chance, and hiding was not going to be possible if this thing had animal like senses. A low growl escaped it and EJ took out his scalpel, if he could get its head then maybe it would be enough to scare it off. The creature took a step forward but the growling stopped, the cannibal could hear the sound of sniffing from its snout. It continued to sniff, creeping closer and the man stepped back with every attempt of it getting closer, the beady eye watching the killer through the stitched up rag mask.

“Back the hell off!” EJ snapped at it, but figured it would not understand him, yet it sat down and a long tongue lolled out from it’s long face.

Curious and confused the eyeless man gazed at his attire and noted the old blood stains on it and then took out a small jar from his hoodie pocket, the jar contained two kidneys and he opened it while returning his attention to the monster. It’s head lifted up, the smell of the blood filled the area around them and EJ took out one of the kidneys before throwing it to the creature. It’s beak-like mouth opened and snatched the kidney in its mouth before chewing it and swallowing. Slowly relaxing himself, EJ pushed his mask up to show his face and examined the beast again, muttering out.

“You’re not a human..nor a regular animal. What the hell are you?”

It seemed to understand what he was saying, only letting out a scoff before a cold, quiet, and guttural voice replied. “sEEd...EAter..”

The sudden english words spooked the man, taking the other kidney out and taking a bite of it while stuffing the jar back into his hoodie pocket. “You speak english?”

SeedEater cleared its throat before replying, its voice still quiet. “I speak many languages..You?”

“During high school I learned some spanish..a few other languages for a college bilingual bachelor but.well I never really finished the years.” The eyeless man explained before sitting on a tree root that was lifted from the ground. “So...seed? You feast on children. And since you speak I assume you lure them?”

“It becomes easier with each week, learning the voices of their families and friends.” It replied wickedly, still sitting down but even sitting the creature was still large.

“I see, and..you are here because..?”

“A new city to try, new food, comfy woods.” Seed Eater replied before climbing up a nearby tree and looked around. “Killer to killer, I’m just exploring.”

“That makes sense..” EJ huffed, taking another bite of the kidney in his hand.

It went quiet for a few minutes, SeedEater taking in the surrounding woods and EJ watching him while eating the bloody organ. The forest was gently moved by the wind and the night carried on with it’s bitter cold and black sky filled with stars. It was tempting to look up and watch for a bit but SeedEater kept his attention, watching as the large creature jumped down and crawled closer. This action made EJ stand up, finishing the kidney before saying. “I need to head home. Nice meeting you.”

“Home?” The beast inquired, tilting his head. 

“There’s a mansion of killers and other creatures in the woods, protected by a..person named Slenderman.” EJ briefly explained before turning and continued walking.

He heard the SeedEater following, the thing continued to speak. “And you are accepted into this family?”

“Family is not what I would call it..It’s more like free living in a mansion of unstable creatures.” EJ grumbled and then looked over his shoulder to the monster.

“Sounds like a good place for the night.” SeedEater hummed, looking at EJ and adding. “Do you think you could put in a good word for me?”

“I can introduce you to Slender,” EJ agreed and then turned his head forward. “But I’m not speaking for you.”

“Speaking is a privilege, I needed to speak to you to avoid a fight, but speaking with a house of killers is just a stupid idea.” SeedEater replied, walking alongside EJ.

“Why is that?”

“You have hundreds of ideas circulating, I would rather be silent and treated as an animal, then speak and force people to hear me.” 

In a way, it made a good point, anytime someone spoke in that mansion it would result in fighting or an argument. That was partially why EJ never really talked to anyone besides Slender and Dr.Smiley, they were the only ones to hold conversation and stay calm. A sigh left his lips, pushing his mask back over his face and replying. “Alright, I’ll talk for you, but after that you’re going to have to at least let Slender read your mind.”

“He reads minds? What kind of creature is he?”

“The hell if I know..” He replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he walked.

Getting back to the mansion, SeedEater returned to his cautious behavior as they walked inside. EJ silently called for Slender, the tall man teleporting in front of him and his head jolted back a little upon seeing SeedEater. “Eyeless Jack? Who is this?”

“SeedEater, he eats kids, I think he wants a place to stay for a bit to sleep.” EJ summarized, shrugging his shoulders.

“Eats kids?” Slender repeated, his mental voice reflecting worry. “Mister SeedEater we will probably have some more kids here, eventually.”

A silent stare off incurred between them, EJ standing to the side patiently as they continued their telepathic conversation. Slender then nodded his head and spoke. “So long as we agree to that, welcome to our mansion. I’ll get some food for you.”

SeedEater nodded with a low rumble in its throat, its head turned to EJ and nodded in thanks before following Slender down the hall. In a strange way, there was a form of respect built between them, not enough to walk across but enough to wait to see how it would form. Taking his time to get to his room he looked at the paint he had asked Slender for to design his room, walking to the bed and falling onto it with a grunt. Removing his mask, hoodie, and shoes the killer quickly curled up and glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand that read 2:46 am, good time as any for a nap. Sleep was something most killers could relate to, between killing and hiding there was not much time to rest on the streets or in a person's house, this was something EJ was more than thankful for when he was brought here.

Slender was beyond tired, cleaning the house, constantly teleporting around to check on CP’s, and now that there were more he was almost afraid of leaving the mansion to find more. The Proxies were being tasked with keeping people from the forest and watching out for more CP’s, and Zalgo’s supposed favor was still rattling in his head. Zalgo hated humans for a reason, but trying to wipe them out with CP or SCP was just foolhardy and pointless. He reached the kitchen and was ready to make breakfast for the manor guests but stopped when he saw Liu in there making some scrambled eggs. The mature CP looked at the tall man and greeted him quietly. 

“Good morning Slenderman.”

“I’m pretty sure it is 7 in the evening Liu, I’m surprised you are up this early.”

“Well, Dr.Smiley said I should try to get used to being nocturnal, but my body is fighting me. I woke up at 9 am, then 1pm, and I just gave up when 6 rolled around.”

Slender watched as Liu set out a plate for himself and grabbed some orange juice from the fridge. “And what are your plans?”

“I think after I eat, I will go explore the city some more. Maybe I’ll even take a car and venture out into another city,” Liu replied with a shrug. “So don’t be surprised if I’m gone for a few days.”

“Thank you for informing me, have you made any new acquaintances?”

“Well...Dr.Smiley is an interesting guy, Jane is a little hard to speak to, and talking with Nina is like talking to a broken record. Seems all her thoughts are filled with Jeff. Otherwise I have not really had the drive to meet others, or they just avoid me.”

“The other CP’s just have a hard time opening up, I hope that everyone will eventually get used to each other.” Slender sighed, sitting at the table with Liu as the man ate his food.

“You know, maybe you just need to let them figure it out.” Liu replied, taking a drink of the OJ before explaining. “If you continue to get in the way of their brawls and interactions they may never find a bond.”

Slender thought carefully, Liu did have a point and with that in mind he stood up and walked off to the security room. “Thank you Liu!”

The green eyes blinked as he watched him walk off, the tall man entering the security room where a tired Kate sat on one of the chairs. She jolted up when hearing the door open and looked over to her boss, sighing and rubbing her head. “Hey Slender.”

“Kate, let everyone know I will be gone for a while, perhaps a few weeks or a few months.” Slender informed instantly, getting a head tilt from the girl.

“Ok? Anything else?”

“Just make sure no one kills each other.” Slender shrugged, leaving the room to get ready for his travel.

“Gee thanks..” She grumbled to herself while turning back to the desk and laying her head down to rest for a bit.

Slender was quick with telling Dr.Smiley about his departure and the reasoning behind it, the doctor saying nothing and soaking in the information as best as he could to the early wake up. After Slender finished the doctor took a sip of coffee and replied. “I can see how that would work, and you going to look for CP’s is not a bad idea.”

“It’s just going to be for a while, but I would like everyone to get used to each other.”

A soft chuckle escaped the mad man as he shook his head. “That’s like trapping a mouse, cat, bird of prey, and dog in the same room. It’s bound to be bloody.”

“Then you’ll have some company in that case.” Slender replied with amusement. “I’ll try to keep in touch with you, you have a phone correct?”

In response, Dr.Smiley held up his flip phone before putting it away and sluggishly walking back to his bed to rest some more. Not taking up any more time with the doctor, Slender teleported to his room and collected some personal items such as a small bandage set and a journal. He teleported out of the room as Masky and Hoodie arrived at the security room and Kate explained what was going on, but with the lack of information there was not much to elaborate on.

“He’s just going to be gone for a while?” Hoodie clarified with Kate. “Either being weeks or months and expects us to just carry on as usual?”

“That’s pretty much it,” Kate shrugged, taking off her mask for a moment. “I think he wants to see how we act around each other.”

“Someone is going to die..” Masky grumbled, not seeing any positive outcome to this. 

“Maybe not,” Hoodie cut in, trying to keep somewhat of an open mind. “But if nothing else we can defend ourselves. If we’re lucky there will be no major drama.”

“We’re in a house of killers, that kind of wishful thinking is going to be shot down in two hours.” Masky retorted, getting a chuckle from Kate.

“I’ll bet 1 hour.”

As if they were heard, on the third floor of the manor that was exactly what was happening. Jeff and EJ ran into each other, Jeff immediately becoming hostile and hissing out. “I would tell you to watch where you were going but I notice you got shit in your eyes.”

EJ glared, but it was not seen behind the mask and with the lack of eyes it would be hard to tell anyhow. “And I noticed your behavior is similar to a spoiled child that never learned manners. You stormed down the hall into me.”

“That’s the point of moving aside dipshit.” 

EJ still was taller than this guy, probably older too, but he did not want to start a fight with him if Slender or someone else would get mad. “I’m not going to move aside just because you think you’re better than me. You could have just asked me politely to move.”

Jeff seethed, shoving EJ hard to get him out of the way before continuing to walk down the hall. The eyeless man was quick to snarl at him. “Hey asshole, keep acting like that and you’ll start a fight you can’t win.”

Jeff stopped in his tracks, not turning to him but spoke out. “Is that a challenge?”

“No, just a warning.” EJ scoffed, ready to turn away to walk back to his room.

He only turned a partial way before Jeff turned and lunged at him with his knife in his hand, the eyeless CP managed to grab his arm in time to keep the blade from entering his stomach. Both struggled for control of the knife, Jeff trying to twist out of his grasp while EJ tried to disarm him. EJ was promptly shocked into the wall when Jeff delivered a kick to his leg and then twisted around to elbow him, the blue masked man moving back in time to avoid the elbow. He narrowly missed the knife when Jeff turned to stab him again, but it was embedded into the wall beside his head. EJ quickly moved from the wall and grabbed Jeff’s right arm, yanking it away from the knife and twisting the limb to pin it to Jeff’s back. 

Despite being very annoyed with this teen, he had to admit that Jeff was fast and methodical in a fight. The pale teen flipped around to avoid being pinned and then moved a foot onto the wall and kicked back to slam into EJ, the taller CP grunting and letting go to catch himself from falling. The cannibal grew annoyed and took his mask off, seemingly catching Jeff off guard before EJ lunged and took a bite at him, catching Jeff’s left arm when the killer raised it to shield himself. An enraged and pained shout escaped Jeff, using his right arm to swing the knife down but EJ grabbed his wrist and pulled his head back in an attempt to rip some of the man’s flesh. Jeff allowed his arm to follow EJ’s mouth to avoid that, the two tried to trip each other with their legs, Jeff finally able to kick him in the shin making the cannibal release his arm. 

EJ retaliated with his scalpel digging into Jeff’s side, hoping to knick his large intestine, not fatal but would hurt a lot. The result was immediate, Jeff hissing and pulling away, EJ grinning smugly at the wounds he inflicted but was shocked to see the crazed smile from the pale teen. “Fucking hell, you still want to fight?”

“Go to Sleep.” Jeff purred out before swiping at EJ with the blade, so fast in fact that EJ didn’t react until it had already cut his cheek.

Moving back the teen continued to swipe the blade at him, it was barely audible but the blade cut through the air with a soft swish to follow. EJ continued to move back, Jeff relentlessly swiping at him and even attempted to trip him, but the cannibal was able to keep back and on his feet. He was not so lucky when Jeff lunged, tackling EJ down to the ground and jamming the blade into his left shoulder, the man howling in pain and then clenched his teeth together. His mask was on the ground, so there was no protection for his face and Jeff yanked the blade out to stab him again, barely getting his arms up in time to keep Jeff’s arms from diving down with the knife.

There was a sudden roar behind them that stopped both of them in their tracks, Jeff looked up and ahead and was thrown off EJ by a large mass. The cannibal looked up to see SeedEater crouch over him protectively, growling at Jeff as the killer got to his feet, the eyeless man slowly getting up and holding his shoulder. The creature beside him growled at Jeff, the two locked in a staring contest before Jeff hissed between his teeth and looked away. “Fucking pet..”

SeedEater seemed aggravated by his insult but EJ placed his hand on the top of the creature's head to stop him from doing anything, merely staring at Jeff as he walked off and proceeded to walk downstairs. EJ let out a sigh of relief that the fight did not involve SeedEater, standing up carefully and checking his shoulder before picking his mask up from the floor and saying. “Thank you SeedEater.”

A gruff noise came from the beast and stood next to him, nuzzling his arm on top of his head and EJ took that as a sign of help. They walked together, EJ’s legs were not wounded, but the pain from his shoulder made him want to slouch over in discomfort. SeedEater allowed himself to be leaned on as he helped the cannibal to Dr.Smiley’s room, both were relieved to see Jeff was not there. Dr.Smiley’s head perked up in curiosity at the beast that walked in with EJ, but then hurried over seeing EJ’s shoulder covered in red.

“Eyeless jack? What happened to you?”

“Got caught in a fight with Jeff, do you have some supplies so I can suture this?” 

“Of course.” Dr.Smiley replied, walking to his desk and grabbing a medical kit while EJ sat on top of one of the beds and removed his hoodie and shirt.

SeedEater watched from the side lines as Dr.Smiley began to stitch the wound closed, but the doctor's dark eyes constantly flicked to SeedEater with excitement. “I see we have a new CP.”

“Dr.Smiley this is SeedEater, SeedEater this is Dr.Smiley.” EJ briefly introduced and his hands clenched into fists while being stitched up.

“Does he talk?” Dr.Smiley questioned, focusing back on the wound.

EJ looked at the beast ahead of him, noting the tension in its shoulders even with all the fur covering it. “It’s ok SeedEater, Dr.Smiley is our CP expert and physician.”

This seemed to relax the CP enough for it to nod and walk closer. “I speak many languages, part of my prey hunting..I prefer people not to know though.”

Genuine surprise flashed through the doctor’s eyes but nodded. “Of course, I do need to make you a file but I will not tell anyone else about your capability to speak.”

Bowing its head, SeedEater continued to watch as Dr.Smiley cleaned up the blood and started salivating in the process. EJ smirked under his mask and offered. “Do you want to go hunting after I’m patched up?”

The beast nodded, and Dr.Smiley quickly added in. “If you want to hunt please don’t strain yourself or you’ll break the stitches.”

“I know my limits for them, thank you.” EJ replied, getting off the bed as Dr.Smiley finished and slipped his top and hoodie back on.

SeedEater stood up, leaving with EJ after reassuring the doctor he would be back to make the file, the man stood there in awe of the two leaving. Whatever this creature was, it somehow already started to trust EJ, he would need to look up any lore made off of SeedEater. Elsewhere in the mansion, specifically the kitchen, Toby was getting a sandwich made for himself and stopped when he saw something move in the corner of his eye. His head snapped in the direction of the movement and blinked in confusion when Sally was there staring at him. Their mini contest ended when Sally tilted her head and asked.

“Does that hurt?”

“Does...what hurt?” Toby asked in confusion.

Sally tapped her left cheek. “I see your teeth, how did you lose so much of your lip?”

This was a tad bit uncomfortable. Toby chewed most of his cheek off as a nervous tick along with his occasional body twitches. “Um...accident. And no it doesn’t hurt.”

He started to eat his sandwich but was just getting more unnerved as the girl continued to watch him. Toby turned around to keep her out of his peripheral but even then he could still feel her staring, and only glanced over when she opened the fridge and grabbed some milk from the fridge and moved over to him. “Can you get me a glass please?”

Toby obliged, taking a glass out of the cabinet and handing it to her. It’s not that he didn’t like kids, but he never really hung out with many kids in his life. She took the glass with a thank you and hurried to pour her cup before placing the milk back into the fridge, running off with the glass in hurried but careful steps. The male CP smiled a bit and continued to eat, occasionally twitching in his spot, the minutes of silence that went by was interrupted by the sound of the freezer room behind him. Slender was clever to put a meat locker room in next to the kitchen for the animal carcasses and human victims, Toby’s eyes wandered to the door to see a man stepping in with a body bag. Moving too quick to get any identifying features, the proxy moved closer to the door and saw a man hanging the bag up on a hook. In the dimly lit room the man adjusted the bag, he was of an average height and built for a man in his late 20’s to early 30’s, dark black hair draped over his shoulders and the man wore a simple button up blue shirt with black jeans.

“Hey! Are you new here?” Toby called out, pulling his mask up a bit to cover his mouth but left his goggles off.

The man's head quickly snapped to his direction and Toby could see his right eye wasn’t his, or it was and was just pink in comparison to his midnight blue eye on the left. Despite the quick turn the man’s lips twitched up into a smile as he bowed to Toby playfully and chuckled. “Hello there, I am doll maker at your service. Or, I suppose you are in my service as a proxy.”

Toby’s head tilted with curiosity, smiling at the man. “Hey, how did you know I was a proxy?”

“Slender gave a mental list of the proxies he has for emergencies,” Doll Maker replied, walking towards him, in his right hand was sharp and elongated silver scissors. “Not that I’ll need assistance. I just need a place to work on my creations.”

“You make dolls out of people?” 

“Precisely! Making them into true perfection!” 

Toby moved aside to let the man pass, closing the locker door and watching the man walk to the stairs. “Hey-Mister Doll maker? You might want to label the bag so it doesn’t get taken!”

“Don’t worry! There’s a full female corpse in there, who would take that?”

While the man walked up to his room a chuckle left Toby in his reply. “He doesn’t know all the monsters and cannibals we have here.”

“Toby!”

The man spun and smiled at the man walking his way. “Hey Masky! What’s up?”

“Creepypasta retrieval, we think we found a new one.”

“Who is it?” Toby asked, quickly walking alongside the older proxy.

“Some man that’s called the Bloody Painter. Several bodies found drained and police have discovered several bloody art pieces.” 

“He paints with blood?”

“Seems like it, we’re going to have an artist to the family..” Masky grumbled irritably and walked outside to the bronze toyota camry that was parked next to the mansion. Because they didn’t know who could go into the woods they added a gravel path for the cars next to the mansion, the two climbed in with Masky at the wheel.

Neither really knew what to say to each other, it was an awkward silence between them until Toby let out a chuckle. “So how was the mission with Kate yesterday?”

“Fuck you Toby.”

“No thanks!” Toby laughed, moving quickly his arm up to block the punch that Masky tried to throw. “Come on! She’s not that bad to work with!”

“She’s a conniving bitch! She let me fall from the building and I nearly broke my wrist from it!”

“You were the one that insulted her speed right before you went chasing after that drug addict.”

“I see she spoke to you..”

Toby only chuckled in response. “You are shit with people. It’s a surprise you’re even working with others.”

“Not like I have a choice!” He snarled back, glaring behind his mask. “I would be working alone but Slender says no proxy should confront a new CP alone!”

“Probably because you nearly got killed meeting Zero.”

“All the women are fucking bitches in this mansion!” Masky snapped then grumbled. “Well, not counting Sally, she’s a brat but that’s normal for kids.”

“Masky! It’s just because you’re boring!” Toby replied, adjusting his seat to lean back. “You’re too uptight, learn to take a joke and loosen up.”

Masky glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. “Maybe you should learn to actually do your job.”

“Hey! I do my job!” Toby pouted in his seat. “I run around and get shit done, I just learn to take my time and actually have fun, you emotionally constipated jerk.”

“Emotiona-Fucking stuff it Toby.” 

Both bodies boiled internally with anger, the two stopping their conversation there, it was going to be a long drive. At the mansion, Jane was trying to get comfortable with everyone, but for now she needed to rest in her room. She was reading peacefully on the bed, jolting and instinctively taking her knife out when she heard her door open. Ally stood there, her blue eyes blinked in confusion at Jane’s guarded figure and then quickly said. “Oh jeez, sorry! I should have knocked.”

Jane released a sigh and set her knife down, sitting up more and setting her bookmark in the pages of her novel. “Ally right? Did you need something?”

“Um, not really, I was just..curious if you wanted to..” Ally struggled with her words, fiddling with her fingers. “Hang out?”

“Hang out?” 

“Just some girl time..” 

Now the pale woman was caught off guard, Ally was always stuck to Slender’s side like a tick on an animal’s hide, and now with Slender gone the woman basically tried to tuck herself into the shadows. No doubt, she would fight her own battles, but she was a shy girl. Jane let out a sigh, some girl time wouldn’t be too bad, especially since the only other girls are either kids or proxies. “Alright, what do you want to do?”

“Well, some of the guys are going killing for fun. We could do that, or maybe watch tv and just talk?” Ally suggested a little less nervous now.

“Sure, are you into horror?”

“I’ve seen Candyman and the Ring.”

“Great, how about I introduce you to a few others? Come on we’ll go downstairs.” Jane replied, getting up and walking out of her room with Ally. “Ally, what exactly do you do to kill?”

“Oh,” She giggled, a mischievous grin making its way onto her face. “That’s something you’ll have to find out.”

Pleasantly surprised the pale woman smiled under the porcelain mask, the two trading in casual conversations. This could be a great chance to get an ally to watch her back on kills, or to help her take Jeff down.


	8. Forced Acquaintanceship

Winter came without much warning, enough that Slender had to cancel his scavenger hunt for CP’s early. Snow was sprinkling everything with a thin sheet of white, winds died down but the air was bitterly cold with low 20’s. His mission was not a complete bust, managing to get a couple more to join him such as the Puppeteer, and Jason the Toymaker. Masky and Hoodie reported getting a CP called the Bloody painter, along with another that was stuck in a game, however they haven’t managed to drag the CP out of the game. With the holidays getting closer, Slender and his brothers pitched in to get supplies for a feast on Thanksgiving and then work towards Christmas. 

CP’s in the house had slowly become less hostile, not completely docile or kind, but approachable. Jeff had cooled down a bit, still challenging a few CP’s or running from Nina, and Smile Dog had become his loyal friend. EJ and Dr. Smiley have worked together on numerous occasions since the cannibal had arrived, and Seedeater was a good companion to the blue masked man. Proxies had gotten close, but many still had short fuses. The list continued on and on with the subtle changes, only the newer additions to the mansion were the ones on edge and uncertainty. Bloody Painter refused to come out of his room unless he was sure the others were asleep, and Jason spent his time making toys in his room. Puppeteer on the other hand..

“Man this is great!” The phantom man cackled, while he did not always hang out with the family, at times that he did he would be an interesting and charming person to talk to.

“Slender I like this kid, he’s got good humor.” Offender joked as he nudged Slender, getting another bottle of wine for him and Kagekao.

“It’s nice to have another phantom here.” Kagekao chuckled along, looking to Puppeteer. “Hey puppet, I can’t believe you say you’re an introvert.”

The man smirked and shrugged, answering as if it was obvious. “I’m only an extrovert after I kill, I only kill to replenish my strength so otherwise I’m just holed up somewhere or stalking my next victim.”

“Sounds rough, having to hunt to live. No wonder you accepted living here.” Offender smirked as he poured the wine into his glass.

“That is one of the reasons I offered him a place here.” Slender cut in. “Not only because of his abilities, but his phantom like body requires him to have a place to rest and still close enough to a city to hunt.”

“Big man’s got the right idea.” Puppet replied, levitating off the couch and yawning. “Speaking of, I’m going to head up.”

“Already? But it’s not even one in the morning yet.” Kagekao huffed, grabbing another glass for his wine.

“Yeah but interacting with such energetic people is tiring. So see you guys another night!”

Slender watched the phantom leave before turning to Hoodie that walked up to his side. “Any luck with the cartridge?”

“It’s completely locked up, seems whatever or whoever is in it doesn’t want us to download him.” Hoodie replied. “We’re wondering if we should just throw him back to a human or have another digital CP go in.”

“No, according to Glitchy Red any CP that could cross into the cartridge would be at the mercy of whoever is in there. Could you grab it for me? Perhaps I can come in contact with the being.”

Hoodie nodded, walking back to the security room and taking the cartridge out of the game console and brought it back to the tall man. Slender took the cartridge and thanked his proxy before walking to the conservatory, looking at the cartridge with curiosity. “Majora’s Mask..I’m not familiar with games..”

Sitting on one of the garden chairs he held the game in his hands, focusing hard on a mental connection to the digital killer. It was silent in his surroundings and mind, his physical being cold from the snow that landed outside and seeped its chill into the room, but in his subconscious he was just in a void. Calling out to the game he was beginning to grow irritated, his hands clenching the game hard enough and was surprised to get a response back in his mind.

“Stop that you idiot! You’ll kill me!”

The voice echoed and he was fairly surprised to hear it be a young boy’s voice. “Who are you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know. Send me back to the humans, I want nothing to do with your group.” 

“You know who we are?”

“Oh please, I could hear you guys when you were trying to tamper with my game. Plus seeing all the news of killers and suddenly brought here against my will, it was obvious.”

“Then you should know we’re not trying to hurt you, we only want to offer a sanctuary for you.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to, that's why. Many killers are misguided and abused souls, they should be given a chance to live.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then I will let you go peacefully.”

The voice of the boy went silent, Slender waited patiently for a few minutes before the voice spoke again. “I cannot manifest for long. Maybe a couple hours until I’ve had more practice, but it should be enough time to look around or get an idea of the place.”

“That’s all I ask, what do you need?”

“Connect this game back into the console, then connect me to the family TV. I will manifest there.”

Slender pulled himself from his subconscious, getting up from his seat and walking to the family room. After he retrieved the console and plugged the game in all there was to do was wait. Minutes passed, maybe out of hesitation, or out of concentration, the TV fuzzed and the console began to whirl to life. The TV flickered, black to lines of reds, blues, and greens, soon a hand began to reach out of the screen that caused Slender to step back. The blackness of the TV seemed to turn almost gelatinous as the body of a boy crawled out, climbing out with ease and the TV turned back to normal once the figure was on his feet. The boy was in a tunic like the character on the cover of the game, but the eyes of the boy were black with only red pupils to show. Blood dripped down his cheeks, his blonde hair ragged, and even when Slender tried to probe his mind he found himself blocked.

“Trying to read me already?” The boy scoffed, crossing his arms.

“Apologies, force of habit.” Slender replied with a nod of his head. “You are stronger than you appear.”

“And that is a secret you will never know the answer to,” He sneered. “But to give you a little information I am 12 years old physically, I am able to phase through the internet, and my name is Ben Drowned.”

“Welcome Ben, what would you like to know first?”

As Slender gave Ben information on the Mansion and some of the CP’s within it, they found themselves wandering the upstairs halls. Ben was silent for most of the time, only asking his questions and staying quiet for Slender’s answers. In the midst of their conversation, Toby skidded down the hall and yelled out. “Slender! Slendy! Jeff and Jane are fighting in the yard.”

“For the love-excuse me Ben, I will try not to be long.” The pale man apologized and followed Toby outside to deal with his troublesome CP’s.

Ben was not fond of the idea of just waiting around, deciding to return to the game to restore his energy. Once he arrived downstairs his heart dropped seeing the TV on and the cartridge gone, he ran over to see a little girl on the couch and snapped. “Hey! What happened to my game?”

“Hm?” She looked over at him and then smiled. “Yay! Another person around my age!”

“Kid you’re like 8,” Ben deadpanned. “Now where the hell is my game?”

“I don’t know, I put it on the ground..Seedeater was here earlier though.”

“And where the hell is he?”

“Seedeater?” EJ raised a brow under his mask. “What is that in your mouth?”

The large beast dropped the cartridge and nudged it to EJ for him to pick up, the man bent down and grabbed it and tilted his head. “A game?”

Seeing Dr. Smiley was gone, Seedeater spoke softly. “I found it on the floor, it smelt like blood and a child so I followed the scent but only found this.”

“Interesting, maybe this is the new Creepypasta I’ve been hearing about. The proxies did mention a new person that was inside a game.” EJ said with peaked interest. “I’ll go find it’s owner.”

With quick steps and a curiosity buzzing in him, the cannibal walked out from the lab to search for this new CP. Only managing to get to the family room before blinking in surprise at the mess. Cushions from the couch were lifted and the rug thrown over, Sally sitting on the floor and watching TV. “Sally? What happened in here?”

“Oh, the new CP is looking for his game.”

“Where is he now?”

“Trying to find seedeater, I think he just went into the living room?”

EJ turned to the living room and sure enough there was a boy on his hands and knees looking under the couches and chairs, the cushions already thrown to the floor. The cannibal only watched, noting the pointed ears on the sides of the boy’s head, along with the tunic he wore. A very odd appearance, finally he cleared his throat and called out. “Hey, are you looking for this?”

Ben’s head snapped up, nearly hitting the armrest of the couch and got to his feet, his breathing seemed unevened. The boy’s body pixelated in front of the masked figure, his skin glitching into dashes of coded greens and blues before his skin turned back to normal. “My game cartridge?”

“Yes a friend of mine..well let’s just say he was following the scent of blood rather than a piece of plastic.” EJ replied, attempting to make light of it as he handed the game to him.

Red eyes looked to him cautiously before taking the game, huffing at him as he dusted the cartridge off. “Doesn’t your friend know not to take what isn’t his?”

“He’s not used to people.” EJ explained, quickly adding afterwards. “Not that it’s excusable, my name is Eyeless Jack.”

A pointed ear tilted up and he took a look at the man’s appearance before replying curtly. “Ben Drowned..”

“Well Ben Drowned-”

“Just Ben.”

“Alright..Ben, are you alright? You looked panicked seeing the game was gone.”

“It’s just important, for my killings and survival.” Ben moved, walking back to the family room and plugging the game in and turning the tv off.

“Hey!” Sally whined. “I was watching something!”

“You can watch it later.” Ben grumbled, examining the distance of the screen to the floor.

EJ patted the top of Sally’s head before walking to Ben’s side and asked. “Need help?”

Ben’s first reaction was a glare and opened his mouth to refuse, but then scoffed and replied. “Fine, give me a boost.”

Intertwining his fingers into a stirrup pad for the boy, he knelt down for Ben to place one foot on his hand then hooked his other leg through the screen. The boy quickly phased through the TV, Sally and EJ left bewildered as the screen flickered and then when black with green coding. “Disconnect the game.”

EJ picked up the cartridge from the console and looked at it curiously, turning his head to Sally and telling her she could watch her show. Slender had teleported back inside and walked straight to EJ, holding out his hand expectantly, to which the cartridge was passed to him. “Did you meet Ben?”

“Yes, he’s rather..impolite.”

“He’s young, and does not trust others, but by what I’ve seen he’s rather intellectual.”

“Right, will I have to make a file on him?”

“Not yet, he is still deciding if he should stay or not. I just broke Jane and Jeff up so they may come to you for healing.” Slender replied, walking to the tv to retrieve the console before teleporting out of the room.

If EJ had eyes he would roll them, of course when those two fight they get hurt, and half of the time they never came to him or Dr.Smiley for help. However he did go back to the basement, wanting to snack on one of the kidneys he collected, it was probably time to feed SeedEater anyways. Upstairs, in a more vacant part of the mansion, one room was occupied with Bloody Painter. The man was working on a canvas of white, gently moving a bloody brush along it into several shades and patterns, internally seething while externally calm. He had learned to hide his emotions well, and after being picked up off the streets by the proxies, there were not many options when his work was all over the news. Not like he was ever ashamed of his art, but he did have to play it safe for a bit and thankfully had enough blood still to paint inside.

Setting the brush into a cup of water, letting the water mix into the blood, he stepped back and took his mask off to wipe the sweat off his forehead. Examining his work so far before setting his mask on the table beside him and went back to painting with a thicker brush. At one moment he heard his door open and quickly spun around, the door was half open but no one stood there, he let out a sigh and closed the door firmly and locked it this time. 

“Oh~ Touchy~”

Spinning around and pulling his switchblade out, Bloody Painter glared at the intruder and his blue eyes reflected shock at the grey skinned man that was floating in his room near the ceiling. Puppet smiled wide at him, showing the golden glow in his mouth that matched his eyes and the strings he had from his fingers, the strings playfully picking up some of Bloody Painter’s art supplies. “Nice to meet you, for once someone doesn’t look like a complete freak or a suicidal wreak. Although you do have some bags under your eyes.”

“Is there a reason you’re here?” The artist questioned, getting his mask and placing it over his face before putting his switchblade away.

“Just exploring,” Replied the phantom. “I was bored, looking around, then I saw this room was occupied so I came to see who was in here.”

“Right, now you have, so leave.” He snipped, taking one of his brushes back from one of the strings and dipped it into the blood before he began painting again.

It was quiet for a moment, Bloody Painter praying the man would leave, but instead he only floated closer and watched from behind the artist. While he was quiet it was very annoying, knowing the man was right behind him, the painter quickly elbowed him in the jaw and smirked to himself as the man groaned. Puppet backed off a bit, feeling the sore spot on his jaw and grumbled. “Aren’t you a ray of sunshine..”

“Just leave my room.”

The phantom floated over him, being upside down and sneered back. “Why, do I make you uncomfortable?” 

“No, but I would like to concentrate.”

“On what? Your art piece is just a bunch of brush strokes of blood.”

“You just have no eye for art, it’s not done yet.” He scoffed softly and glared at Puppet. “What the hell are you anyways?”

“A ghost~” 

“Right..I suppose I’ve heard weirder.” 

“And let me guess, you’re human?”

“That’s right captain obvious.”

“Oh, talented and sassy? I’ve struck gold.” Puppet teased and took the brush from his hand, making the artist growl.

“Would you just leave? What the hell do you want?”

“Maybe some company? Man what do you have against ghosts?”

“I just have something against jerks taking my stuff and pestering me. If you want to sit in here at least do it silently.”

The phantom pouted and handed him the brush back. “Fine.”

Bloody painted let out a sigh as the phantom laid on his bed and watched the ceiling, the painter at least somewhat pleased and went back to his work. No more than a couple minutes later the phantom then asked. “So what’s your name?”

“Bloody Painter.”

“Too long, I’m The Puppeteer but everyone just calls me Puppet. What about your real name?”

His fingers clenched around the brush, making it aggressively against the canvas. “And why should I tell you that?”

“It’s called making a good impression.”

“Oh you definitely made an outstanding impression.”

“Here, to make it fair, my original name is Jonathan.” The phantom replied and sat up with a smile, moving a string to the painter and tapping his shoulder. “Come on man, I won’t leave until I get a name.”

“I already told you-”

“Something shorter.”

With a sigh Bloody Painter shoved the string off and looked over. “Helen, my name is Helen.”

“Helen? Huh, I was thinking of Jeremy or Matthew.”

“Will you be quiet now?”

“Sure~”

Despite Bloody Painters doubts, the man did go quiet for him as he painted. Not that he wasn’t thankful but it certainly was a surprise given the man’s behavior. The time ticked by slowly, but for Bloody Painter it was mere minutes compared to the hour and a half that really passed. Proud of his work, Helen set down his brush and took his mask off to look at his art piece, stepping back a bit. He barely noticed Puppet standing next to him until the man let out a low whistle and made him practically jump out of his skin. 

“Man that looks cool, never realized blood could be artistic in the literal sense.”

In surprise the blue eyes blinked, looking at the phantom then his artwork. “Thanks..No one has really seen my paintings, or at least compliment them.”

“You’re welcome, seriously though what did you have in mind when making this?”

He was actually glad in a way, someone was actually asking for details on his art. Walking closer he moved a finger over the art, hovering only a few centimeters as he explained parts of his painting. “Well, this was when you walked in so it’s a bit deeper than I wanted it. But the rest is mainly just how..”

“Troubled you feel? Conflicted?”

“Y-yeah how did you know?”

“You’ve basically been hiding up here since you were brought to the mansion.” Puppet pointed out and then continued. “Besides I think most CP’s feel like this when they first arrive.”

“Oh..well, you’re not wrong then.” Bloody Painter muttered back.

The phantom smirked and slapped the back of the painter. “Come on man! Lighten up. Come on let’s go killing!”

As the man levitated to leave the artist was puzzled but intrigued, grabbing his mask and following the man close by. “So as a ghost can you pass through things?”

“Nah, not that kind of ghost. Bull shit though, I can fly and summon strings but I can’t go through walls? Satan has a cruel sense of humor.” 

The guy was pouting, legit pouting, Bloody Painter held in his laughter and smiled under the mask. Once getting downstairs, both stopped at the last step as Smile dog ran passed and caught a knife in his mouth. Jeff laughed and called out. “Nice catch smile! Come on and bring it back! I’ll cut up some steak.”

Smile dog happily ran back with the blade, Bloody Painter huffing and looking at Puppet. “This is why I don’t leave my room, there’s insane people here.”

Puppet cackled loudly, wiping a tear from his eye as he tried to calm down. “Man, you’re not any better.”

“Hey, I’m not throwing knives or having a monster as a pet.”

“No you just paint with your victims blood and act like a shut in creep.” Puppet teased, avoiding a swipe of Helen’s fist and running outside. “Come on! It’s time to live a little.”

“Jeff stop throwing the knife around!” Slender telepathically shouted, catching the knife with a tendril and towered over the killer and Smile. “You could hurt someone!”

“So? It’s not like it’s hard to stitch up a wound.” Jeff scoffed, shrugging it off.

“Oh? So if I stabbed your arm with your own knife, you can fix yourself without any help?” Slender challenged, Smile dog’s ears pulled back a bit and looked at Jeff.

With an irritated grumble Jeff held out his hand. “Ok I won’t do it, just hand it over.”

Reluctantly, Slender gave him the knife, watching the pale man walk off with his furry friend. A mental sigh was released from the tall man as he walked to the kitchen, seeing Trender in there making some tea. He must have been able to feel Slender’s irritation, because he had two cups out with tea bags ready and just was now filling the cups with boiling water. Trender turned to him, Slender exchanging a thank you to him and his mouth tore open on his features a bit to allow the soothing drink down his throat.

“You have done quite a bit Slender, I will say I am impressed.” Trender commented, taking a sip of his own tea. “Are you sure you want to celebrate thanksgiving for these brats?”

“It is a human tradition, while they may not mean much to us, it could mean a lot for the children.”

“Children? It’s as if you think of yourself as their father.”

“I do not,” Slender denied quickly. “I am just glad to see some progress has been made. But many have had their minds and bodies broken, some do not act their age while others are hyper aware and use it to their advantage.”

“Such as Ben?” Trender asked, only getting a ‘look’ from Slender.

“...you read my mind.”

“You really don’t make it a challenge to read.”

Ignoring his words, Slender continued to talk. “Yes, like Ben. He is very aware of his gifts and understands how to use them. Others like Jeff though can see their skills and refuse to use them correctly. That is why I am just referencing them all as children.”

“Makes sense, what exacting are you hoping out of celebrating their holidays though? They’re dead, and several either don’t eat, or only eat humans.”

“Maybe to connect, or just remind them that being a killer does not mean you can’t enjoy life.” 

“Alright then, knock yourself out.” Trender touched up his coat, dusting off his arms while handing his cup to one of his tendrils. “Are you celebrating Christmas too?”

“That one is still something I’m thinking about. Right now I need to just keep watch of everyone and try to connect to a few of the more isolated CPs.”

“Good luck with that..” Trender muttered before teleporting upstairs.

Slender enjoyed the couple minutes of peace and the tea, turning to Masky as the proxy walked up to him. “Sir?”

“What is it Masky?” Slender asked, now feeling somewhat relaxed.

“Do you still want Hoodie and I to continue with the mission for finding more CPs?”

“No, I think we can wait on that, but I do have a different assignment for you two.” Slender replied and handed a picture from his pocket to Masky. “This cabin is one that has been in the woods for a while, I just want you two to take a look at it.”

“A cabin? What’s so important about it?” Masky questioned as he looked at the old picture.

“It is just one that has been left for years, but I figured we could use it again. It is a bit of distance from the mansion though, probably a good 3 hour walk.”

“Great..Ok we’ll take off tomorrow and have a look. And what if it’s inhabited?”

“I would not imagine anyone there, but if there is then remove them. Later we’ll discuss more cabins and outposts in the farther corners of the forest.”

Masky nodded, walking off to tell Hoodie of this change and Slender fell back into his internal peace. While Slender did want to find more CP’s, they had already collected so many, and bringing more may cause more friction in the group with newcomers. Many were opening up, and some occasionally joined in idle conversation during breakfast or dinner, yet it still was not enough to have others trust each other. Even the proxies had their own distrusts in each other which made it harder for them to work together. The holidays were the only thing he could imagine making them feel more human and hope to have them talk about something other than their kills and their fighting methods.

In the city, not terribly far from the mansion, Jeff was stalking for a new family to kill in a suburban neighborhood. It was quiet as expected for being 3 am, the pale killer smiled wide when he noticed an open kitchen window and carefully removed the screen from the window. After crawling in a disgusting smell hit his nose and he internally grumbled to himself, if there was another killer in here then they were going to learn a lesson of killer turfs. Jeff carefully walked through the house, there were no lights on but the street lights somewhat illuminated the main hall. At first he began to think the smell was just something in the trash as he was climbing in, but the smell just got stronger when he walked upstairs. He only reached up half way on the steps before hearing little snickers echo in the house along with a song, Jeff was able to recognize it as the “pop goes the weasel” song. Now on edge, he took out his blade and faced it out away from himself, checking the first room quietly and seeing a woman who was bleeding on the floor dead. 

The woman’s head was hit with a blunt object by the looks of it, making Jeff switch his knife into his other hand to leave his right arm as a shield of sorts. Walking down the hall the little song continued playing and he could smell the stench getting worse. One of the doors was opened wide, and inside was a boy on the floor, his stomach cut open and the smell was clearly his rotting flesh along with the strange mix of candies in the stomach of the child. There was no one in the room by what Jeff could tell, and he tried to piece together what happened and if any of the killers from the mansion would have done this. Very few went specifically after children, but none of them had candy in their M.O. Stepping into the room to examine the body and surroundings, Jeff noticed a lot of pictures on the kids bed, all with crayon drawings of the kid and a clown beside him. The clown in the pictures was monochrome, one picture had the name “Laughing Jack and Me” scribbled on the top in poorly written spelling, it was very odd to him as the kid looked happy in the pictures with this imaginary friend. 

Jeff suddenly felt his heart beat slow down, his arms covered in goosebumps as he turned and swiped the blade in the air. His eyes narrowed at the darkness, he heard a chuckle right before long arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind and pulled him back. Jeff did not have time to react as his head met the wall with a thud and the arms released him as he dropped to the floor. Now on guard and angry, Jeff quickly got to his feet and looked around the dark room, moving and quickly flicking the lights on before standing in the center of the room with his knife held close to his body. If he had not heard it in time, the lamp that was on the nightstand was torn from the wall and hurled at him, the killer ducking in time for the lamp to shatter against the wall. Relying on his instincts, Jeff made a swipe at one of the walls when an arm attempted to grab him again, the arm quickly retreating. The blade had no blood, whatever he was fighting was not human. 

“Hey, afraid to fight me in person? Only like to pick on kids and women?” Jeff taunted out loud, his eyes darting around to find the source of this creature.

It was silent for a moment, but then a voice chuckled, it was strangely demonic and it sent a chill down Jeff’s spine. “You have guts, I would love to tear them out.”

“Come out and try me then.” Jeff challenged, watching as a puff of black smoke came from the wall and a tall, monochrome, lanky clown appeared with a sickening sharp toothed grin.

“Very well.”


	9. Skulking Shadows

Laughing Jack dodged back as Jeff swiped his knife at him, laughing as he twirled before kicking Jeff in the gut, making him collapse onto his knees. Sure Jeff has been hit before in the stomach, but this clown’s strength was unlike any other person he’s fought before. The worst part was the clown just cackled at him and kicked him again before he could process what happened. Jeff got to his feet and threw the blade at the demonic clown, only for the clown to dodge and the knife landed in the wall as the long claw-like fingers of the clown swiped at him. Now here was something he could work with, narrowly evading the claws he grabbed the clowns arm and pulled him closer, swinging a fist right at the taller creature's face and only pulled him again to knee him in his stomach.

Said clown was now glaring at him and threw Jeff into the nearest wall, LJ moved to kick him but Jeff grabbed the knife from the wall and stabbed it through his leg. While he did flinch back, Jeff noticed the stuffing material of sawdust and cotton inside the clown, the clown let out a yell and pulled his leg away before hauling Jeff up by his hoodie and threw him right into the window. Jeff could hear the glass crack as he slid down, growling to himself and ignoring the faint feeling of liquid dripping down the back of his head. LJ snickered again as he taunted the pale killer.

“No matter what you do, you can’t kill me.”

“I can damn well try.”

“You are not like other humans, I mean ugly for one, but you don’t seem like a normal person..” The clown hummed out, seemingly looking at Jeff for the first time.

“I can say the same about you bitch.” Jeff spat out, looking up. “I’m a Creepypasta you shit.”

LJ snorted before laughing and clutching his arms around his stomach. “A-a what? What is a Creepypasta? Some weird cult you kids came up with?”

“No!” Jeff snapped and stood up, LJ a little surprised he wasn’t wobbling. “It’s a group of weird ass creatures. For god’s sakes, the boss is a faceless man that is around 8 or 10 feet tall.”

A dark eyebrow quirked up, the clown’s sick grin dropped to one of curiosity. “Really? And..what do you guys live in an abandoned house or something?”

“It’s a mansion.” Jeff huffed and started to walk out. “Fuck this, I’m leaving.”

Once unlocking and exiting the back door Jeff was incredibly agitated, not only because he knew he couldn’t kill that guy, but he also didn’t get the kill he was looking for. The night was cold and there was only about a couple centimeters of snow, but Jeff’s anger kept him warm with his blood boiling in his veins. He only just entered the forest when a puff of smoke appeared in front of him and the clown materialized.

“Mansion?”

Jeff stared, confused, guarded, angry. “You’re asking me now?!”

“I had to think about it,” LJ shrugged. “I didn’t know if you were lying.”

“Why would I lie about living in a mansion!? Only a sad person lies about that!”

“True..so, would you be willing to show me?”

“Willing? No, but I don’t think that’s going to stop you..” 

LJ snickered at the man’s scowl and nodded. “Probably not.”

Jeff thought about it, this could earn some brownie points with Slender, and it would be easier to try and kill the bastard. “Fine, I’ll show you, but don’t be fucking alarmed when you see other killers and creatures ready to eat you alive.”

“Well I'm not really considered alive so I don’t think we have a problem.” LJ chuckled, following Jeff through the forest.

The clown tried to joke with Jeff, but the killer stayed stoic or would occasionally tell him to shut the hell up. Eventually LJ went quiet and just walked alongside him taking in the surroundings of the forest. When they did arrive at the mansion, LJ whistled as he looked around and chuckled. “I thought you were exaggerating, you meant a literal mansion.”

“Slender! There’s a new ass here!” Jeff yelled out, Slender teleporting right in front of him, the pale killer started to walk upstairs. “Found a guy, he’s yours, he’s got crazy powers, go nuts.”

A tendril quickly wrapped around the killer and pulled him back. “Hold it Jeff. Politely introduce me to him.”

“Ugh! Fine! Laughing Jack, Slender, Slender, Laughing Jack. Now let me down!”

“Laughing Jack? An interesting name, where did you come from?” Slender asked, still holding Jeff hostage.

LJ smirked and bowed playfully to Slender. “Well I was created in the 1800’s, where is not important.”

“1800’s? Impressive.” 

“Wow your fucking old.” Jeff smirked a bit, crossing his arms. 

“You don’t have the right to speak until I know why you look so horrible.” LJ scoffed and then smiled back at Slender. “Seriously though, what do we do exactly? What is a Creepypasta?”

“Creepypasta is just a website that the humans created to call us, but really all of this is a haven for killers and other demons. You may stay, come and go as you please, rest and eat. Really it’s like a family of killers.” Slender explained. “Even Jeff has a friend here.”

“I do?” Jeff raised a brow at the tall man.

“Smile dog, I’m talking about Smile.”

“Eh..well..I think a companion is a better word.” Jeff shrugged, looking away from them.

“Huh, sounds promising.” LJ nodded, crossing his arms. “Are there kids here? I really hate kids.”

“There are a couple, most of them are very mature or introverted. Only Sally is the one I could call playful, but she is a killer too so I’m sure she won’t be an issue for you.”

Jeff then commented. “Wait a second, if you’re not human then you don’t need sleep. Hell, you probably don’t need to eat.”

“While the eating part is right, I do need sleep still. All creatures do.” LJ shrugged off. “I only eat if I feel like it, primarily candy.”

Slender set Jeff down, surprised that the killer didn’t try to run off. “How about I show you around? Then I can get a room set up for you.”

The clown smirked, following the tall man into the next room. “Sounds good~ Am I allowed to add locks and customize my room?” 

“Of course.”

Jeff watched as they walked off, deciding to go to his room to sharpen his knife. It's not that he really needed to get to know anyone here, it’s just good to know who’s here so you’re not caught off guard. Laughing Jack just made it to the top of “people I need to watch out for” list, everyone else in the mansion seemed relatively possible to kill or stun except for him. He did not want to take a chance fighting him unless he knew how he became to be and possible weaknesses. With that thought in mind he turned around and made quick strides down to the basement to see Dr. Smiley, the first time he would be willing to go down to that psychotic man. Downstairs the room smelled of fresh blood, he could hear a gently clipping noise and Jeff watched as Dr. Smiley removed a finger from his newest victim.

“Hmm, your finger never grew correctly.” The mad man hummed out, setting the finger on a cloth and looked up at Jeff. “Hello Jeff! What brings you here?”

Jeff walked closer as he asked, staying on the other side of the operating table. “We have a new CP I think, but those records you make of us, do you keep our pasts too?” 

The doctor continued to take apart the body, using small knives and surgical scissors to cut off pieces of the male body on the table. “I do, or at least the stories Slender tells me or that the CP’s give me. Why do you ask?”

“The new CP is strong, and inhuman. I want to know about his weaknesses.”

“So demanding, kudos for being honest though.” Dr.Smiley chuckled behind his mask and then looked up at the killer. “It’s not in my place to tell you about the weaknesses of CPs. How would you like it if I gave all your information to Jane?”

“You better fucking not!”

“Hypothetical, but that’s my point. Whatever this new CP has gone through it is not my right to tell you anything, you’ll have to ask them yourself.”

Jeff thought for a moment, thinking about how to play around this. “Can you assume some things then?”

“I suppose.” 

“If the creature isn’t human, can manipulate things and teleport, what would you assume its weaknesses to be?”

Dr.Smiley released a sigh, standing up straight and setting his tools aside before looking at Jeff with slight irritation. “If it is a demon they can probably be harmed by people not believing in them, holy items, or another demon. If it is of an angelic nature then something demonic would harm it.”

“Ok then..no idea what he is.”

“Be advised Jeff, tampering with Demons or Angels is a very risky and unwise thing to do.” Dr.Smiley’s eyes darkened slightly, something Jeff had never seen from the crazed doctor.

With that warning, Jeff turned and started to walk to the door, hearing Dr.Smiley talk again. “You have remarkable capabilities Jeff, enhanced hand-to-hand combat, stamina, almost like an advanced bionic human. But you still have a mortal body, a creepypasta is only gifted with immortality once they deserve it. Phantoms and those that are already dead already can live forever without opposing forces, people like you, Jane, Toby, you all can still die.”

That made him stop at the door and glanced back at the man. “How do I become immortal then?”

“That..” The man paused, his eyes darting away to the body. “Is something I don’t know.”

He left then, closing the door quietly and walking to his room in thought. There must have been someone just as powerful, or more powerful than Slender. Who was it that controlled who became immortal? These questions needed to be dealt with later, for now he needed rest and to keep observing. 

Outside where the air was frigid and the sun was just rising, pinks and blues colored the sky as Hoodie and Masky trekked through the woods to reach the cabin Slender had spoken about. On Masky’s back he carried a backpack of supplies and had a holster around his hip, mostly containing basic survival material, and with Hoodie he carried a shotgun on his back and a waist pack carrying some ammo. While walking, Masky shuddered a bit and grumbled. “Couldn’t this have waited until spring?”

“Not likely, if there is someone there then we need to kick them out.” Hoodie replied, his breath visible in the air, his brown eyes looked up at the sky to see the sky getting lighter but it was overcast.

“Fuck!” Masky shouted as his foot accidentally sunk into frosty waters, it was a small river but it probably sunk a good foot in and crossed through the forest. “Since when were there rivers here?”

“The forest changes a lot..” Hoodie commented then took a careful step in and carefully walked through the water, repressing a shiver. “Slender said that the forest can change constantly, even some things that weren’t there can suddenly appear, that’s what makes it so easy to trap trespassers.”

Masky begrudgingly walked through the water, nearly slipping and Hoodie quickly grabbed his arm to steady him. “This cabin better have a heater or fireplace..”

“I would imagine so, we’re almost there. It’s just on this hill.” Hoodie replied and began to climb out of the water. 

The walk was unbearable in wet boots but they managed to get to the cabin and immediately walked inside to get warm. As expected it was an older cabin, a single bathroom, a small kitchen, one main bedroom, a loft bed space, and an old fashioned fireplace. Hoodie started working on getting the fireplace ready, clearing the old ash and adding in logs, while Masky took a look around the cabin. With how things looked, it has been a while since anyone had been there, dust was collected on every surface. The masked man took some time to clean off the lights to prevent a spark from happening, afterwards he went back to the fireplace and removed his wet boots and socks and placed them near the fire.

“No one has been here for a long ass time. Was there anything we needed to do other than check?”

“Not that I can recall.” Hoodie replied, removing his shoes and socks, placing them by masky’s. “Although since we’re here we might as well just stay the night and clean up a bit.”

“I guess..” Masky huffed and walked to the kitchen and checked the stove. “Old stove, it needs wood or coal..I thought this forest was only entered by people from the late 90’s?”

“Like I said, this place changes,” Hoodie spoke, following him to the kitchen and taking off the firearm from his back. “It’s possible many people have been here from different centuries and the forest changes everything.”

“That’s ridiculous..”

“Call it what you want, it’s not like we really live normal lives. We have a tall, faceless man thing as our boss with supernatural powers.” 

Once they finished talking the two began working on the cabin, checking for supplies and cleaning up as they checked the house. Thankfully it was a small place, cleaning would probably just take the day and for them to clean it up then they could have a well deserved rest. It would be the first and probably only time for the next few weeks that they could get a full 8 to 10 hours of sleep. The day passed by slowly, both taking notes on what they needed for the cabin and possible uses for it, but once the sun had set the two were basically dead on their feet. Throwing more of the emergency wood in the fire the two sat on the old couch with some of their dehydrated food packs and added water to their coveted food.

The two sat awkwardly for a few minutes as they ate with the camping spoons they got, Masky mumbling out. “What flavor do you have?”

“Lasagna..”

“Nice.”

“You?”

“Beef stroganoff.”

“Cool.”

Falling back into silence, the two ate and watched the fire as it got darker outside. Hoodie pulled his hood off and asked. “What’s changed?”

Masky froze and set his food down. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re acting as if everyone is against you all the time. Acting like you hate the people around you, the Tim I knew would at least crack a joke.”

“If you haven’t noticed, Brian, things have changed. We’ve been fucking enslaved and now fight just to live in a mansion of killers.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to be an ass, sure maybe the others are annoying but it’s not like they aren’t victims either.”

“Fucking-there’s cannibals and now demons. Brian this is a shit show and you know it. We have done nothing but run around on errands under that things control.”

“We had only two options.” Hoodie argued, looking at Masky. “Die or live on as slaves, considering what we have been through I think living was the better option. We could have been thrown into physiatric hospitals or killed by Slender. What kind of life would that be?”

“Better than having to work with homicidal and idiotic maniacs.” Masky grumbled and stood up, setting the bag down and taking out a cigarette from his coat pocket.

“I know it’s not the bet way things could have gone, but in a positive way, we’re helping others that have suffered. Making friends with-”

“I don’t need friends that would rather tear my guts out then have a beer with me.” Masky mumbled with the cigarette as he took out his lighter and lit up the end. “I’m heading to bed.”

With the masked man leaving to the master bedroom, Hoodie sighed and shook his head, eating the rest of his food in peace. Disposing of the bags into the fire he sat there thinking, he has known Tim for a long time and always knew him as a guy that wouldn’t leave anyone behind. Sure, Hoodie was the first to fall to Slender’s powers, but he did see a chance, immortality, a life of comfort behind the work. Masky was different from Tim though, a more aloof and tunnel-visioned man, only caring about getting the job done so he could rest. Hoodie couldn’t blame him, they have been working hard, it was hard to deal with the others, but he hoped that someday Masky could see another side to their fellow proxies. With that positive thought the hooded man went to the loft space bed and quickly gave in to sleep.

When the two did wake up it was already sunset of the next day, both equally surprised they slept so long. After they ate the two started on their way home in an uncomfortable silence, the day was colder than the last and they decided to find a way across the small river without getting their feet wet. They would not make it home with all of their toes if they tried to cross and walk the rest of their way. On their way home they managed to get across a narrower stream of the river, both of them noticing the odd look of the forest and Masky was the first to ask. “Did we leave our forest?”

The woods around them were dark, all the trees seemed to have black bark with no traces of leaves or even life on them. Even the grass was a disgusting brown color while the air felt thick with a ghastly fog, the snow didn’t even touch the ground in this area. Hoodie’s voice dropped as he spoke. “The air feels warmer here..is this Zalgo’s territory?”

“It has to be, Slender had mentioned it was only a small part of the forest, but it contains the portal to Zalgo’s realm.” Masky mumbled back and looked around. “We need to get out of here, I really don’t want to meet this demon.”

“Who would want to meet a demon?” Hoodie replied but followed his friend. 

They wanted to get out quickly, Slender had warned them before that Zalgo was not a creature to cross nor bother. Stepping into his territory may evoke something dangerous and that was the only thing Slender ever said, and if they were to encounter Zalgo then they should pray and call for him. Without delay they crossed through the dead forest and as the snowy forest came to view their steps quickened. Before they could touch the snow a large black creature pounced on Masky, knocking him onto the ground and Hoodie frantically getting the shotgun off his back and shooting the large beast off him. Masky grunted as he sat up and looked at his arm that was bleeding from three long scratches, his eyes gazed over at the large creature. It was smaller than a bear but larger than a wolf, black scale-like skin covered it and horns were present on its head in two long spirals. The paws it had were adorned with four fingers and long sharp claws, it’s eyes glowed with red just as did the parts of the body that were disconnected from itself, like the demon was being held together by red smoke and the body was only a shell.

“What the fuck-”

The beast jumped at them and Hoodie quickly fired another slug round at the creature, giving Masky time to get up and cover his arm. “Holy fuck what the hell kind of demon is that?”

“A malicious one!” Hoodie said, stepping closer to unload another shot of lead at the demon, keeping it pinned to the grass.

The demon sprang up suddenly, aiming for Hoodie’s neck with its teeth bared and the hooded proxy used the shotgun as a bar between the claws and teeth of the monster and his form. The weight of the monster made him trip back onto the ground, but he was focused on keeping the teeth and claws away from his body he did not notice the pain. Teeth snapped dangerously close to his face and nicked his hood a bit, grunting as he moved to try and kick the demon off. A loud yelp came from the monster when a large branch hit its head, Masky standing beside Hoodie before shouting and slamming the head of the creature again. Teeth latched onto the wood and a snarl erupted from its throat, trying to shake Masky’s grip off the branch but the struggle was cut off with a loud shot ringing in the air. The demon fell to the ground, and the two proxies panted, their lungs taking in as much air as possible and the two finally looked at each other before a silent agreement passed to leave.

Quickly fleeing the territory back onto the snow, both glanced back to see the demon still down from the .38 bullet that Hoodie fired into its head. “So..that was something.”

“Something? Damn it Hoodie it was a fucking monster!”

“Hey, it’s dead now so take it easy.” Hoodie shrugged, throwing the shotgun over his shoulder. “We should fix your arm.”

“Once I’m sure we’re far enough from those things, then I’ll fix it!”

From the eyes of the beast that stood on its paws, a red window was being looked through from Zalgo’s throne. Said demon smirked and clapped his hands together. “So there’s tension in Slender’s proxies..So far I have found two CP’s to offer my help~”

He stood and took off his cape, looking to his CP Shadow Lurker. “Lurker, keep collecting spies for me, they are becoming more and more useful to me.”

“And you want to go ahead with the demon and relic room?” Lurker questioned, watching the demon lord.

“Yes, proceed with that as planned. After I have a few more targets I will make my offers.”

“If I can ask,” Shadow Lurker cautiously asked. “Why a relic room? Humans do not possess a lot of valuable things for demons..”

“Oh you’ll see Shadow Lurker, it’s amazing I did not think of doing this sooner.” Zalgo chuckled. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to make some deals~”

“Hold still damn it.” Hoodie grunted as he tightened the bandages around Masky’s right arm. “You’re acting like a brat.”

“Only because we didn’t stitch the damn wounds.” Masky grumbled, sitting on a fallen tree and brushing off more of the snow from it. 

“Let you or I do that? We would mess up the stitches and you would probably get an infection.”

“I just want to get back to the mansion, I’m tired of this shit already.”

Hoodie looked at his companion, his mouth opened for a second before closing, this motion repeating for a minute before he finally said. “Thanks by the way..for knocking that thing off.”

“Yeah well..” Masky grumbled, looking down. “Out of all the people in that damn place, I can tolerate you more than them.”

“I’m touched.” Hoodie smirked and finished tying the wrap. “That should hold, once we get there we can talk to Dr.Smiley to get you stitched up.”

Both started on their walk again, Masky suddenly asking. “Do you think we should bother telling Slender about the demon?”

“I don’t know, I mean we took care of it. Would it be a big deal?”

After a couple minutes of thinking, Masky shook his head. “Nah, probably not. It was demon territory after all. We did cross it and it’s no surprise that there were some stray demons.”

“By chance, did you hear that we’re going to be celebrating the holidays?” Hoodie asked, chuckling when Masky turned his head to him. Even with the mask in the way he was sure there was a dumbfounded look on his face.

“You’re kidding right? Having a bunch of killers and monsters in the same room trying to celebrate thanksgiving and Christmas? Hell, I’ll sleep at the cabin on both occasions.”

“It might not be so bad, he probably thinks that will bring others together.”

“It brings normal people with a sense of love or joy together, not crazy people.”

In reply to his blunt statement, Hoodie stopped walking and supplied a calm tone. “Most of them were human once, and it is a powerful time that people come together for.”

“I don’t even remember the last time I had a get together for either holiday.” Masky huffed and continued walking. “But what the hell, Slender’s cooking isn’t that bad.”

“That has to be the nicest thing you’ve ever said about him.” Hoodie joked and lightly hit Masky’s left arm. “See, just talking about the holidays is making you soft.”

“Blow it out your ass!” Masky hissed back, but his partner only laughed in return.

Back at the mansion, Slender was cleaning up the kitchen and Sally was walking by with her teddy bear, her eyes blinked in surprise at the kitchen’s cleanliness. “Slendy! It’s so sparkly in here!”

The tall man turned and chuckled softly, picking the girl up in his arms. “I am just cleaning it now before it’s too late. When it gets closer to thanksgiving it will get really messy in here.”

Her eyes comically widened, sparkling emerald orbs stared at the faceless man. “Thanksgiving? We’re going to celebrate it?!” 

“Of course, I said I wanted to bring the family together and I feel like this is the best way. Have you made any friends yet?”

Sally’s eyes darted from him, frowning a bit. “Not really, a lot of people think it’s weird that a kid is wandering here, and Ben is the only one close to my age and he hides all day!”

“I know it’s not easy Sally but soon enough the others will come around.” Slender tried to encourage, holding her as his tendrils fixed up the kitchen.

“I don’t care, because I like you Slendy!” The girl smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

The affection was not foreign, but it was still something he was not used to. He patted the girl’s back and finished the kitchen, taking the girl to the living room and carefully lowering her down onto the couch. “I hold a fondness for you too Sally, normally I don’t care for children, but I think you’re the only exception.”

His joke made the brunette giggle and jump on the couch a bit, to which he quickly grabbed her and lowered her onto the floor. “Now, how about you watch some TV? I will let you know when dinner is ready.”

“Ok!” 

Slender teleported to the security room, surprised to see Toby patching Masky’s arm up while Hoodie was writing down something on a paper. “Masky, Hoodie, how was the cabin?”

The hooded man turned to him and gave a shrug. “Could have been worse, it is pretty intact and we cleaned off the dust. It will need some supplies though before anyone tries to stay up there. Things like a medical kit, wood, food supplies-”

“What happened on your way back?”

Hoodie glanced at Masky before answering Slender. “We had a little trouble with a wolf.”

“A wolf? A lone one?”

“Yeah, looked a bit wild.”

“We already checked Masky for rabies!” Toby called out, laughing as Masky punched him in the arm.

“It was not foaming at the mouth you dick!”

While Slender was tempted to read their thoughts, he felt it best not to push it, and just replied. “I see..well, I will be sure to stop by the cabin to deliver supplies there. I will probably have Kate and Toby retrieve supplies tomorrow.”

Toby had pouted a little but said nothing as he finished the wrap on Masky’s arm. The tall man moved to the door, stopping when he noticed Hoodie following. “Is there something bothering you Hoodie?”

“Slender, we noticed an odd forest while passing, a dead looking forest. All the trees were black and no snow was on the ground. Would that happen to be Zalgo’s territory?”

He hesitated for a second but acknowledged his question. “Yes, I advise you to inform the other proxies about it, and along with telling the others to avoid the forest. Zalgo is a demon and is not to be trusted.”

“Why are you two so cold to each other?”

“It’s complicated..he and I have different views on our immortality and gifts, and when I propose something he normally twists my words to benefit himself. It will be no surprise if he is tempted to make a deal with the CP’s as well.”

“Should this be told to other CP’s then? If he’s that dangerous-”

“Hoodie, do you believe any of them would listen?” Slender cut him off, then responded. “We need to focus on building bonds, then we can talk seriously about Zalgo.”

Hoodie wanted to speak up more, to quench his curiosity, but knew that trying to pry further may just result in scolding. The hooded man nodded and left to go back to the security room, Slender taking his business to the living room to sit and think. If his proxies have been exposed to Zalgo’s forest then they are going to need to be ready for any of his schemes.


	10. Spare A Soul?

(Now I am trying to stay away from CP OC’s, mainly because I want to focus on the real CP’s. As you may have already noticed I have brought in a couple for the sake of continuing the story, but I will try to keep the OC’s out of it. I know most or all are just stories anyways and you can argue CP’s are all OC’s, but some stand out as more OC’s than others, such as Judge Angel who rightfully belongs to Yayugi. If you guys want to suggest any CP’s to me to put in then let me know in the comments, I may add SCP’s I’m still thinking on it.)

It was not to say the Creepypasta’s were family-like yet, if there was a good way to describe the mansion’s residents, it would be unstable teens with weapons of mayhem and the unluckiness of a dodo bird. Slender would try to be patient, but it proved to be difficult at times, having to break up arguments and lately some of the CP’s have been getting cabin fever. While the snow was not over two feet, not many of them desired to have their feet wet or cold and would stay inside. Those that got rides or didn’t care would still go out killing but Slender was starting to wonder if a CP could get sick.

“I hate the damn snow!” Jane let out a frustrated look as she turned away from the window and looked to the others in the living room. “Any idea how heavy the snow will get?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Zero huffed, her ghostly white eyes watching the TV. 

Zero was a newer addition to the family, but seemed to get along with most just fine, Jane excusing it as her being an extrovert. The woman did get along extremely well with Puppeteer and Kagekao, Jane being the only woman she really talked to. Jane sighed and sat down on the couch, taking off her heels. “We really need to get more cars.”

“You find a nice Ferrari and I’ll hotwire it.” Zero joked and glanced at Jane. “Still trying to kill Jeff? That’s something you can do while being trapped here.”

Jane scoffed and grumbled. “Slender said he didn’t want us trying to maim each other while Thanksgiving and Christmas is coming.”

“Oh man I can’t wait for Thanksgiving~ That’s probably my favorite holiday.”

“Why?”

“Duh! Great food! Sure Christmas has the sappy gifts and colors, but Thanksgiving has delicious food that lasts for a whole week! And it’s the only time I excuse myself for gaining weight.”

Jane smiles a tiny bit, shrugging her shoulders. “Ok good point, but are we actually going to have a feast?”

“We are!”

Both girls jumped in their spots and looked over the back of the couch to see Sally giggling, the little girl on her toes and holding the back of the couch, her teddy bear locked in her arms. “Slendy says I get to help cook!”

“Great kid, do you have an idea what we’re having?”

“Not really, turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, some veggie casserole..but Slendy said I would be making sweets!”

Zero rolled her shoulders back with a delighted hum and leaned back on the arm rest. “Sounds heavenly~”

The small brunette walked around, hopping onto the couch and looking at the two that were on either side of her. “Do you want to play in the snow?”

“I don’t have the right clothes to be in the snow,” Jane grumbled. “First and last mistake I’ll make for next year.” 

“I’ll play Sally~” Zero chuckled and got up, the little girl jumping up with glee and running to the front door to grab her winter boots.

“You’re seriously going to play with her?” Jane asked as she looked to the equally pale killer.

“When she sees how good I am with snowball fights she won’t want to~”

“Don’t nail her in the head, Slender will get mad if anyone was to hurt Sally.” 

“I will take it under advisement!”

With a short salute, Zero walked to the door, tightening the scarf around her neck tighter and followed after the young girl. Jane sighed and took the controller to watch something, if anything interesting was on and yelped as Smile dog jumped onto the couch with bloody paws and crimson dripping from his jaws. He was far too close for Jane’s liking, making her hiss at the dog. “Smile! Get down! Off the couch!”

Smile just huffed at her and proceeded to lay down and lick the blood from his paws, Jane scooting herself all the way to the arm rest to be as far as possible from the deadly creature. While watching the TV more voices came into the room as two younger boys came in, or known as Ben Drowned and Lost Silver. The two had become well acquainted, mainly being friends because of their similar connections to haunted games. Jane glanced over at them as they passed behind the couch and walked to the table, Lost silver practically levitating on the seat that was pulled out and Ben sitting across from him. 

“I’m telling you, if we hit the game store and grab some new games maybe it’s possible to possess some of them.” Ben spoke, getting a head tilt from the limbless phantom and the Unown’s spelled out in front of him.

“Domination?” It spelled.

Ben only shrugged. “Not really, just something to do so we’re not bored all winter. I know you don’t have that much moving space.”

“No Shit.”

“Well what do you want to do smart ass?”

“Happy here. Pokemon friends.”

“You mean your torn up slaves? Why not invite Sonic.EXE who claims himself as god?”

“Just saying.”

While the conversation sounded like Ben was talking to the air, Jane groaned and looked over. “Can you guys just shut the hell up?”

Both turned to her with agitated looks, Lost silver’s unowns spelling out “fuck you,” while Ben rolled his eyes. “Stop listening so hard if you don’t want to hear us.”

“Like I can, your voice is squeaky as a mouse.”

Ben stood up from his seat that made Jane stand in response, Lost silver watched with boredom as the two got closer. “Take that back cunt.”

“Make me kiddo-”

“No! No fighting in here!” 

Everyone looked to Splendor as he hurried into the room with a wide smile, moving his long arms between the two angry CP’s and gently pushing them away from each other. “Now no fighting. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! So no bloodshed until afterwards, otherwise Slender will be mad about the blood in the living room.”

“This bitch just-”

“But he-”

“Nope!” Splendor clapped his hands together. “Don’t argue, go kill some humans, or do something else to relax yourselves.”

The two killers glared at each other before leaving the room and Smile dog looked up at Splendor, the two staring before Splendor chuckled and pet his head. “Yeah I know, so childish~”

Dr.Smiley was coming out of the basement when he heard Splendor, noting the killers leaving in opposite directions. “Looks like you’re handling everything well.”

“Ah! Doctor, how pleasant to see you! I feel as if you’ve been down there for weeks.”

“I practically have been,” He joked back with a chuckle. “I’ve been preparing body parts that I haven’t used to give to Slender. Is he cooking already?”

“Yep! He’s been preparing some of the food for tomorrow, you know the stuff that needs to sit. How have the CP’s been for you?”

“The usual, being stubborn about seeing me or giving me a quick hello. I really could use another apprentice.” Dr.Smiley admitted. “There are too many casualties to keep track of while I’m trying to work, and EJ often disappears on his own killing sprees for days.” 

“If there’s anything I can do to help just let me know.” Splendor offered, only getting a head shake from the doctor. 

“No, it’s delicate work so I need someone either willing to learn or already knows human anatomy.”

“Delicate CP’s are hard to come by. Oh! How are the new CP’s?”

“Which ones?”

Splendor snapped his fingers. “You know! The fancy pale man and the rotting creature?”

“Ah, Mastermind has already left to go to the city. He is one of the few that owns a car. And The Rotting Wraith has already left saying it was time to return to her swamp. Apparently it’s too cold here for her.” Dr.Smiley yawned and walked to the kitchen. “I need coffee..”

Splendor stuttered to stop him. “Uh! Dr.Smiley I don’t think-”

“Get out!” Slender snarled, making the doctor jump back, now fully awake and turning around.

“Ok so he does not like to be disturbed in the kitchen..”

The giddy tall man started laughing, clapping his hands together like a child. “That was great! My brother has had too many bad experiences with the CP’s going in there.”

Slipping his surgical mask down, Dr.Smiley looked up at him confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, I keep forgetting you’re a shut in.. Well! Story time! Toby went in there and somehow set fire to the oven making pizza, Jeff splattered condiments everywhere making a sandwich, EJ and any other cannibals left a bloody mess, and so one and so forth.”

“Huh, no wonder he always cooks for the family for breakfast and dinner.”

“Mhm~ He’s thinking about making a cleaning schedule too so he’s not always cleaning up the manor. Anyways, I’m going to go to the forest and save some souls my brother trapped here. Bye!”

He left the doctor dumbfounded, eyes wide as his brain processed what the joyfully creature said. “Souls?”

Clockwork was not one to socialize with other CP’s, that’s why she was in the city with her hood up and walking through the crowds. Christmas was already set up in most stores, irritating her beyond what sanity she has left, and keeping her eyes to the snowy sidewalk. Because it was only about an inch it was already melting from the civilians walking around, her eyes glanced up to check for anyone about to run into her. Her green eye flickered with excitement seeing a guy walking down an alleyway and quickly followed him down the path. The man stopped and took out a cigarette and lit it with a zippo lighter, Clockwork flicked out one of her serrated knives before stabbing the man in his back and whispering to him.

“Your time is up.”

The man let out a pained yell from the knife penetrating his lung and struggled as she dragged him further into the shadows of the alley, but obviously not quick enough when she heard a woman scream and looked up to see a fleeing figure. Letting out a silent curse between her teeth she chased after the woman, curing loudly when the human ran into one of the nearby stores. Clockwork knew she would have no other choice but to find a safe place to hide, no doubt the woman was going to call the police and there was not that much time to spare. The brunette held her hood up as she put her blade back into its holster and began to run, there was no real location in mind, just anywhere she could hide for the next hour away from the crime scene.

Cops arrived faster than she was hoping and despite trying to blend into the crowd it didn’t help when the people stopped on the sidewalk to watch the flashing cars go by. Clockwork quickened her pace, running down another alley to stay hidden and skidded around the corner of a building to sit on the cold ground. Catching her breath the CP grimaced at the restaurant's dirty alley, but closed her eyes to think. If she could hide out here for a while then she would be able to get to a motel or something for the night.

“You seem to be in trouble.”

She jumped up to her feet in an instant and looked up at the winged man sitting on the fire escape of the building. “Shit man, don’t just do that! Hey, you’re that hobo guy right?”

His blue eyes narrowed in slight offense. “Hobo heart, and you are Clockwork.”

“Gee what gave that away?” She scoffed sarcastically as he hopped down. “Aren’t you freezing? You’re only wearing pants.”

He spoke softly, his wings folding closed. “How perceptive..no I am not cold, I just got a new heart so I’m plenty warm from the adrenaline.”

“Oh right you steal hearts or something..Ok well bye.”

She turned to leave, freezing up as she saw flashing lights at the end of the alley and cursed. “Fuck! These people catch on fast!”

“Like they have anything else to do on this night.” Hobo said then grabbed under her arms. “Don’t scream.”

Before she could even threaten or shove him away she was hoisted into the air and bit her tongue to not produce a scream. Hobo’s grip was strong, able to hold her with ease as his wings flapped which almost could be heard over the wind. It was not long that they were in the air, Hobo landing on top of a motel that was about five blocks away from the location they were at. Clockwork actually had to take a minute to warm her face from the cold air that was suddenly introduced to her at speed, she looked at him only to see him still flapping his wings and mainly hovering over the roof. 

“T-touch me again and I’ll cut your wings off..”

“Of course, you’re welcome.” He huffed and flew up into the dark sky, Clockwork mumbled in embarrassment before finding the nearest fire escape and climbing down. At least it was a motel, easy to kill someone and stay the night without anyone checking in.

Hobo was on his way home, yes he actually considered the mansion his home, and while the other residents were partly annoying it was a sweet place to stay. It was quiet enough when the CP’s weren’t screaming at each other, the location was private, and he had food so it was a better option then hiding out in abandoned places in the city. Something flashed in the corner of his eye, something large and red, stopping himself in the air he dove down to a part of the forest he hasn’t seen yet. If there’s anything that flying around this forest has shown him, it’s that the forest was constantly changing and was a pain to find the mansion. This part of the woods was untouched by the snow, trees bare under the dark sky, a strange chill of dread made his wings shudder. 

He waited patiently, his vibrant blue eyes scanning over the dark forest and slowly moving down from the top branch to a lower one. As his feet touched the last branch he still saw nothing and jumped onto the ground, his wings twitching in case he needed to fly out fast. An eerie and uncomfortable feeling began to leave a hole in his stomach, he continuously looked around for any sign of life. When he started to walk he heard a growl and quickly flew up onto one of the trees and looked behind him. A large, red, disfigured creature was watching him, it’s jaw open large enough to probably devour a great white shark in one gulp. It let out a sickening growl and suddenly it’s neck stretched out and tried to eat him, Hobo jumped up as the tree limb broke in its mouth. Roaring loudly it spat out a fireball at Hobo, the winged man dodging and began fleeing from the woods.

Red snapped it’s jaws angrily at the flying figure, slowly pulling its head back to its body before yelling out in anguish and turning it’s angry glare at Zalgo. The demon smirked and held up the cartridge that now had a long red scratch on the cover, the spawn of where the creature came from. “Now, let’s not be too fussy. You behave and I won’t destroy you, understand? What do you know of passing through the internet?”

Hobo returned to the mansion in one piece thankfully, the heart he stole was beating rapidly in his chest to almost a painful level. “What..was that..?”

Staggering on shaky legs, the angelic man went to Dr.Smiley’s basement where the doctor was cleaning up some blood from the surgeon table. “Ah, hello there Hobo Heart, it is not often I see you here.”

“Dr.Smiley, do you know about the darkened woods in this forest?”

“Darken-oh, that’s probably Zalgo’s territory.” Dr.Smiley clicked his tongue and mumbled. “I told Slender we should warn the CP’s…”

“Something from here attacked me, something huge and red.” Hobo replied. “Any idea what it could be?”

“Well no, I have not even met Zalgo. But it should probably be brought to Slender’s attention that you were attacked. I believe he’s in his office right now, are you hurt?”

“No, not really. Thank you.” Hobo replied before walking out to Slender’s office, he knocked softly on the door and watched it open thanks to one of Slender’s tendrils.

The tall man sat in his chair, looking over a newspaper but asked. “Yes Hobo Heart?”

“Sir, I was attacked in Zalgo’s territory-”

With a loud crinkle, the newspaper was crumpled together in Slender’s hands and his head turned to the man. “Why were you in that territory?”

“I was passing by, although when I dove down for a closer look I was attacked by some demonic thing.”

“Zalgo’s realm is all about demons, it is not surprising that something tried to kill you. Just stay away from that forest.” Slender ordered with a hiss. 

“The forest is constantly changing, this needs to be told to the others as well before someone gets killed.” Hobo stated firmly. “You know, it would be something to bring up at the dinner table tomorrow, most should be there for Thanksgiving and you would have everyone’s attention.”

“Perhaps, thank you for informing me, Hobo heart.”

The man left Slender to his thoughts, long pale fingers rubbing the side of his head. It was probably time for him to speak with Zalgo, this is the second time he’s heard a CP bring up his forest. Teleporting to the under realm he was greeted with the intense heat of the realm, Slender tried to avoid going down there when he could, but there was not much choice in this matter. Walking to the main castle doors the tall man was surprised to see a person at the door, or more specifically Shadow Lurker, who grinned at Slender. “Zalgo thought someone crossed his domain.”

“I need to speak with him now.”

“You’re welcome in.” Shadow Lurker replied and opened one of the large doors. “He is on his throne.”

Slender stepped in and glanced around, mildly surprised to see many demons walking around but headed straight to the throne room. Zalgo was speaking with someone at his seat, a human male, which was weird considering how much the demon hated humans. Zalgo’s red eyes caught a glimpse of the pale man and smirked, waving the man away and walking down from his seat. “Slender! Welcome! What can I do for you?”

“Zalgo, who was that human? And..how many demons do you have?”

“Well I’ve been finding more and more now since you started collecting the broken humans.” Zalgo hissed out in amusement. “But that man was not a human, he is possessed by a demon. He calls himself the Pianist. But that’s besides the point, what do you need?”

“I would like to point out that a few of my CP’s have been attacked by your demons, you need to have more control of them.”

“More control? Your CP’s crossed into my territory! And besides they’re demons, there is only so much reign I have over them.” 

“Zalgo! At least have one person here watching the woods! I will try to keep my people away from your territory, but I suggest you get a CP or demon to guard the portal.”

“Huh..have anyone in mind?” Zalgo grinned. “You still owe me that favor.”

Slender snapped back, his mouth tearing open as his voice darkened. “If I find you a CP to guard the entrance would you accept them?”

A dark claw tapped the demons chin, his red eyes watching Slender as he thought. “I suppose so, but they must be a demon or some form of creature that does not require sleep or nutrition. If your kind crosses into my territory I can’t guarantee them coming out unharmed.”

“Very well..Give me some time to find you this..inhuman creature.” Slender hissed back and then turned to leave.

The tall demon watched him leave and grinned. “I’m interested in seeing what he brings..Enigma!”

A large cloud of black slipped out from the shadows of the walls of the castle, forming into a black void ball in front of him. With a silvery tone, the void responded. “Yes Zalgo?”

“Didn’t you say you had an interest in a CP?”

“The endless black demands a body that can last forever, the CP’s sound like the perfect hosts. But I do not know which one yet.”

“Stay in the shadows, head to the mansion to conduct your research. Slender is out for now, but who knows how quickly he could find a guard for me.”

“Thank you.” The black ball dispersed into the shadows of the stone floor and trailed into the cracks between the stones, Zalgo chuckled to himself.

“Oh Slender, this truly was your best plan yet.”

“You promised him what?” 

Slender stood before the bewildered doctor, his red eyes piercing into the pale man’s head after the tall man’s explanation. Dr. Smiley released a sigh and opened a filing cabinet, looking through the several CP files he had saved. “Slender I don’t believe we have any demons or CP’s that fit the qualifications you’re looking for. You’ll need to find another one.”

“Any suggestions?”

With a shrug the drawer was closed and the doctor turned back to him. “Try the internet, humans lose their minds over supernatural news. Perhaps Ben can assist you.” 

“Ben..thank you Dr.Smiley.” 

With a quick flash from the room, Slender reappeared in the living room and looked at the cartridge that was neatly set on a shelf, taking it and setting it in front of the TV and plugging it in. “Ben, I need your help.”

The screen fuzzed, colors flashed across in broken lines before it went static and Ben pulled himself out, the cyber spirit seeming very annoyed by Slender’s presence. “You need my help? That’s a first..” 

“I need to know if you’ve seen anything on the news regarding a demon or creature?” 

Ben’s ears twitched up in interest, crossing his arms and his red eyes glancing around but never looking back at Slender. “I have seen some stories off the internet..but nothing specific. Why?”

“I need to find a CP with incredible durability and able to survive without sustenance. Is it possible for you to find one?”

“I’ll look but don’t expect anything.” Ben scoffed and climbed back into the TV.

The abyss of the internet was like the Relativity painting, full of paths and electric colors painted the ads, news, and other media connections. While the place was dark, the intel chips below him were flowing with electricity that pumped at an accelerated rate, like a heart being pumped from adrenaline. Blue and green lines glowed around him as he searched the internet, occasionally he had to break through a firewall to get to the sections of code he wanted. Even though he was good at this, it’s not like it’s easy to find real stories or lore with all the media that was constantly uploading. After what felt like hours he came upon an interesting article and began to read out loud to himself, his voice carried through the void around him.

“A man survived a brutal attack by an unidentifiable creature, the man stated that the thing was large and was morphed from the figure of a girl to a terrifying beast that caused three long claw marks down the man’s back. He currently is in the hospital- and I don’t care..Sounds like something Slender would be interested in though.”

Ben wasted no time downloading the data to a computer back at the mansion, quickly crawling out from the computer it downloaded to and was abruptly yanked out from the screen. A pained grunt left the boy, glaring up at the figure standing there and snarled. “I don’t have time for your shit Skully!”

“Then why did you download something to my computer?!” Skully snapped back in anger.

“It’s for Slender! Sorry I didn’t realize it was your fucking Dell 2000’s computer.” Ben replied with a hiss. “Let me just get it downloaded somewhere else-”

“Get out of my room!”

“Let me go through asshat!”

“Oh my god shut up!”

The third voice was next to Skully’s room, the two stopping to listen to the person walk out from their room before slamming Skully’s door open with a furious gaze. Nina stood there and glared at the two before yelling out. “Just let Ben do his shit so you two can shut the hell up! I was in the middle of a dream!”

She slammed the door shut, the outburst giving Ben the time he needed to jump back into the screen and take the download to a different computer. Getting to his new room where several games were littered on the floor and crawled out of his computer. Opening up the file he thought of printing the article except that Slender probably doesn’t know what that is..Tech deficient bean pole. After thinking about his options he just decided to go downstairs to talk to him, seeing that he couldn’t just drag his computer along without fearing a CP breaking it. Getting up and dusting himself off he walked out from his room and back downstairs, the mansion was quiet on account of how it was early morning and Ben’s ears twitched as he listened for the pale man.

He turned quickly as he felt static enter his ears, seeing Slender behind him and scoffed. “You really need a bell Slender.”

“Anything?”

“Straight to the fucking point..Alright there’s something that people have been calling the creature. It might be your best bet. Apparently it can shapeshift and only stays in the darkest of forests. I’m not sure if it stays in one spot, but that’s all I know.”

“Thank you Ben, I’ll take it from here.”

Ben rolled his eyes but walked back to the TV to enter his game once more to rest, Slender thinking before teleporting back to Dr. Smiley. The man was asleep so the tall creature took extra care to walk through the room silently while looking through some of the files of the CP’s. He needed someone to help him find this creature, while he was able to detect supernatural anomalies, he also needed someone with a good way to tame or capture it if things go wrong. Puppet Master? Masky? He didn’t want to bring his proxies in on this, he needed someone that could surprise the thing. With that now in mind he looked for a specific file, taking out one labeled Papa Grande. While the CP was human, he could be of some use with his manipulative ability and had a mature mind like him. 

Papa Grande decided to stay at his own old show house, saying that living with the other CP’s would be nothing but troublesome and he might kill a few to make a point. With the man in mind, Slender put the file away and then teleported out of the basement to Papa Grande’s show house. The building was old and rotting, blood and mold smells crossed through the dark stuffy room, in the distance the sound of grinding and sawing echoed through the room. Curtains, chairs, and the wallpaper were falling apart and beyond any hope of repair. Getting to the stage, blood covered the wooden floors, a human body was on the stage without a head and the magician was sawing through a box and female body, the woman was long dead while more crimson liquid oozed out from the center of the box.

“Ah! Slender what a surprise, what can I do for you?” Papa Grande asked as he looked up, but one hand firmly held the box while the other grinded the saw down harder.

“I was curious if you were available to help me on a mission, it is retrieving a demonic CP entity.”

“That’s an odd request,” The magician said, brushing back some of his grey hair before opening the bod and blood poured out along with the woman's shredded intestines. “Why are you asking me?”

“You’re file mentioned your fantastic manipulation skills, and seeing how you handle a saw I know I do not have to worry about you. Are you up for it?”

A wide grin split across the man’s face. “When do we start?”

“After Thanksgiving, it will probably be easier to seek him out once we’ve had a feast.”


	11. Repression

After Papa Grande agreed to help, Slender went back to the mansion and went to bed to be ready for Thanksgiving. He assumed with most humans being with family that the creature would not appear anyways to maim anyone, plus after the holiday he could leave without worry of the CP’s starving or destroying the kitchen. Something was up with Zalgo, he despised having minions, sharing what he owned, so why is he collecting CP’s? He wouldn’t plan world domination, there’s no point in killing or possessing everyone to the point where there are no deals able to be made. It could possibly be he was trying to upstage Slender, or prove he could have more CP’s than him, which seemed juvenile but possible. There was nothing he could think of that would clearly explain his intentions so all he can do is wait, or when he returns with a CP ask for an explanation.

When the sunset came, Slender was awake and cooking in the kitchen, making it clear no one was to disturb him unless it was serious. Laughing Jack was coming back from his conquest of killing a family and sniffed the air. “Oh~ Something smells good.”

Kate was on the couch at this moment watching some TV, glancing back at the clown through her mask. “Slender says no going into the kitchen, also he said not to fill up before it’s time to eat.”

“Oh please, I’m full of stuffing and candy! I will never be too full to eat something.” LJ jokes, a cynical chuckle passing his lips.

“Just giving you the heads up..” Kate mumbled, turning her attention back to the TV.

Hurried scraping sounds were heard and Smile dog ran down past LJ with the hilt of Jeff’s kitchen knife in his mouth, the clown having to lift a leg up to prevent getting cut. Footsteps thumped loudly as Jeff ran down the stairs. “Damn dog give that back to me!”

LJ smirked and caught Jeff’s arm, the speed at which the pale killer was caught made them both spin for a second as the clown laughed. “What’s your hurry Jeff? Smile can’t do anything with a knife.”

“There you are wrong you fucking monochrome bastard! Let go!” Jeff snarled and ripped his arm from his grasp and looked around. “Fuck! Where is he?”

“He slipped outside.” Kate huffed, pointing to the now open door. “I don’t know how he managed to open it with paws though.”

“Son of a bitch!” Jeff yelled then glared at LJ. “You-”

“Lighten up!” LJ interrupted and slapped him hard on his back, making the CP fall forward a bit. “It’s thanksgiving Jeff, isn’t that something stupid human’s celebrate?”

“Are you looking for a foot up your ass?” 

“Laughing Jack, leave him alone.” Kate ordered, standing up from the couch. “Slender said no fighting today and we all have to try and bear this.”

“How boring~” LJ chuckled, Jeff merely rolling his eyes at her.

A growl left her lips and she left the room to the security room, deciding not to waste her energy on them. They watched for a second before their eyes caught each other's and Jeff scoffed. “So...what do you do for fun?”

“Make balloon or gut animals, scare kids, kill kids, sometimes go to a carnival since no one sees me as a threat there.”

“That’s it?”

Silver eyes turned to a glare at the smirking killer. “Ok smart ass, what do you like to do?”

“Go killing, shop lift, sometimes sneak into a movie or take valuables from my victims for some extra cash. Occasionally I’ll play with Smile, but he gets too rowdy and runs off with my shit.”

“Sounds boring.”

“You’re just saying that because I think your shit is stupid!”

“Oh dear lord stop you two.” 

Both looked over to Bloody painter, who was carrying a paint bucket with dried blood leaking down the sides. While unable to see his face, it was clear he was staring at them with an exasperated expression and continued to speak. “Why don’t you hang out together to see if each other's activities are really that dull?”

Both shouted back. “No way!”

Bloody painter leaned back from their loud voices but replied calmly. “If nothing else it will make Slender happy and you’ll burn time before dinner.”

A hiss left Jeff while a groan left LJ, the two keeping their eyes in opposite directions as they thought of the painter's words. The two slowly looked at each other when Bloody painter walked upstairs, both eyes narrowed in a glare but LJ was the first to speak. “He has a point. Carnival then city houses?”

The smug grin on his face made Jeff itch to stab him but he grumbled. “Fucking fine, but if your shit is lame I’m leaving.”

“Hey we get to do your dumb stuff afterwards.” LJ snickered and walked out the front door. “Come on i’ll get us there.”

“And how are you going to do that?” Jeff scoffed as he followed the clown to the cold forest. “I don’t believe you have a car.”

“Nope~ I can teleport. How else do you think I was able to sneak attack you?”

“You didn’t sneak up on me!” Jeff objected angrily, only getting even more enraged when the taller CP grabbed his arm. “Hey! Fucking let go-”

Before Jeff could attempt to strike at him, LJ jumped into a shadow casted from one of the trees and the two were hurled into a black pit. Jeff felt weightless, uncontrolling of his destination, and all thoughts were practically absent as he was pulled from the abyss into a brightly lit carnival tent. No one was in the tent, but it was set up for a carnival game where kids would shoot the little plastic ducks with water guns, the CP’s currently behind the game. Children’s laughter filled the air along with delightful screams from the people riding the roller coasters, smells of popcorn and cotton candy flooded Jeff’s senses to the point he nearly gagged.

“Dear fucking lord, how can you stand the smells and sounds?” Jeff grumbled. “And who’s bright idea was it to have a carnival in winter?!”

LJ cackled and pulled back the side of the tent and pointed to the green grass. “Jeff we’re in a different country! The snow doesn’t come until January.”

The pale killer poked his head out and looked around, the air did feel warmer than at home, the sun was still up and that made the killer pull his head back in quickly. “Are you crazy!? People are going to see us and flip out!”

“Jeez you're a nitwit.” LJ rolled his eyes and walked out from the tent. “It’s a themed carnival Jeff, this one is hosted every year and you can dress up as whatever you want. Then after dark the “scary fest” begins and there are actors that run around in costumes. We have an hour before the “scary” part starts.”

Jeff followed him out, LJ’s point only being proved correct as a couple kids ran by laughing, one wearing a cat costume and the other dressed as Michael Myers. “I feel like you purposefully don’t tell me shit so you can have your own monologue.”

“Thus is the life of an entertainer in another reality~” LJ cackled before spinning around. “Come on! Let’s find some victims!”

The mischievous clown ran off into the crowd, Jeff staring in confusion before cautiously following him into the masses. Who knows, maybe this will be fun. Back at the mansion, Rake skulked around the kitchen, hoping to get a bit of what food was being prepared but was ushered away several times by Slender. Offenderman was also ushered out despite only getting a bottle of wine and hissed at his brother. “Slender, for fucking sake it’s just a human tradition.”

“One that may make the others feel more at home.” Slender countered, pointing a knife in Offender’s direction.

“My god you’ve become so damn sappy. It’s like you think these CP’s are your kids!”

“They are my responsibility.” Slender curtly replied before going back to chopping vegetables.

Offender only scoffed before walking back to the living room where Kagekao was, finishing off his cup of wine and looking up at his taller friend. He let out a chuckle and leaned back in the brown leather chair and held out his glass. “What’s got you out of whack?”

“My brother is such a pansy now.” Long fingers opened the bottle and poured the red liquid into the glass half way before moving it over his own cup that rested on the wooden table. “He used to kill tons of people each day, hanging them on trees and made his name a legend! Now he’s running around a mansion like a mom.” 

“Cut him some slack Offendy, I don’t see you working your ass off to keep the peace or keeping this whole place clean.” 

Sitting beside his friend on another chair, Offender took a sip of his wine and grumbled. “That’s why he has Trender and Splendor..”

Kage moved his mask back in place after a sip of his wine, saying softly yet full of judgement. “If you really were his brother you should be helping him in this endeavor.”

“Ehh,” Offender cringed a bit, frowning and pinching the stem of his wine glass. “Look, caring, being there for people, that’s just not what I do. Oh, speaking of which, after this bottle do you want to go fuck some sluts up?”

“Are you asking in a literal sense or killing?”

“What do you think~?”

“How about this, we find a place, you can screw with anyone you want and I’ll kill anyone that could be a witness.”

“Deal!”

Both drank to their agreement, gulping down what was in their glasses before quickly refilling them, the two forgetting about their serious conversation and enjoying the bitter crimson liquid. The house was filled with the smell of veggies, yams, spices, and other delicious smells that lured a few CP’s out from their room. Nina being one of them who only stepped out of her room and simply stood in the hall, memories streaming through in quick flashes of her Thanksgiving’s at home with her family. A similar effect was taking hold of others in the mansion, Liu actually nearly dropped his book upon the memories hitting him like a freight train, and EJ had to grip onto Dr.Smiley’s surgical counter to prevent himself from falling onto the floor. Dr.Smiley quickly helped the CP onto one of the beds and removed his mask to see EJ’s face twisted in confusion and pain.

“EJ? Are you alright?”

“No! I’m not!” EJ snarled, baring his sharp teeth at the doctor as he sat with his legs over the side of the bed and his hands running over his temples. “My fucking head hurts! Feels like a drill is being forced into my head.”

“That’s odd..here.” Dr.Smiley took out a pill bottle. “These should help, I better check on the other CP’s.”

Leaving the room and walking around the mansion, Dr.Smiley did notice strange behaviors from a few of the CP’s, Jane watching TV at a loud volume, Nina seeming in a daze, even Puppeteer seemed uneasy. The doctor looked outside for a second, it was dark outside and the forest still with a cold breeze pushing by, Seedeater eating a human carcass in the now bloody snow. After circling the mansion he heard crying from the kitchen and glanced in to see Slender holding Sally in his arms as his tendrils continued to tend to the food. “Sally, what’s wrong? It looked like you were having so much fun in the snow. Did Zero do something?”

“I miss my m-mommy!” She wailed out, hiding her face into his shoulder.

“Sally..” Slender sighed, unsure what to do for the girl and just continued to hold her, occasionally petting her head.

Dr.Smiley cleared his throat to get the tall man’s attention, the pale head turning to him and nodding at him to come closer. “Slender, I believe this holiday is making the CP’s repressed memories come out.”

“Repressed?”

“Yes, the feeling of being human is making them remember what it was like before they became CP’s. Several of the CP’s are in a state of shock or pain, there are only a few that are not.”

“That’s interesting, who is not experiencing this?”

“Ben, Lost Silver, Ally, essentially the ones who have never experienced Thanksgiving or memories have been repressed further.” 

Slender was conflicted, was this a good thing or bad thing? “So, do you suppose that this isn’t something they should be experiencing?”

“On the contrary, I think this is exactly what the others need to feel at home. A moment of weakness and comfort within the mansion. Here, want me to take her?” Dr.Smiley asked, gesturing to the girl in his arms.

“Yes please.” Slender nodded, carefully handing her to the doctor, her whimpers lessened as he carried her out and left the tall figure to think. It was curious to him that the CP’s have repressed so much, Slender remembered everything that happened in his life so why was it not painful to him?

The sun was starting to set at the carnival, the “scary” part of the carnival was going to start right after sundown and kids were starting to leave with their parents while teens and adults started flooding in their place. LJ and Jeff were currently sitting on the shake shack roof, it was temporarily closed due to mechanical issues so it was the perfect place to take a break and eat. Jeff was eating some cheddar popcorn and LJ was snacking on a corn dog with a bag of multicolored cotton candy next to him, they knew that they had a big dinner tonight but a snack never hurt.

“Ok, you can’t say this hasn’t been fun.” LJ smirked at him, finishing the corndog before tossing the stick to the side.

With a roll of his eyes Jeff shrugged and mumbled. “It was different. I’m not used to hunting during the day, but it’s nice to walk around in daylight and people not suspecting you. But your bullshit with that little redhead nearly got us caught!”

Earlier LJ decided to lure a little redhead boy from the bumper cars and kill him in one of the tents, this of course is the time Jeff was gone killing a bitchy teen that kept posting things on twitter with an obnoxiously loud and scratchy voice. Unfortunately, the kid’s parents were looking for him right as soon as LJ killed him so he had to hide the body in a trunk and quickly clean off the blood. Many people had gathered to look for the kid so both killers had to hide for a good 30 minutes until the parents left with a couple police officers, the carnival staff were still looking for the kid as well.

“Hey, how was I supposed to know he had parents around?”

“Dumbass, what irresponsible jackasses leave a kid unattended?” Jeff scoffed, only getting an “are you kidding” look from the clown.

“Jeff...you really don’t know anything about how rotten people can be.”

Jeff glared and snarled in reply. “Hey don’t look at me like I don’t know! I know how shitty people can be! I just didn’t know adults could be so self absorbed.” 

“Oh it’s not just adults, it’s just about anyone of any age,” LJ’s tone seemed to be darker, a furious frown on his face as he gritted his teeth together and looked out over the carnival grounds. “Adults lie to their kids and other people everyday, as teens lie about everything to just make themselves seem like a golden treasure, and kids pick up on it and lie because they think it’s the right thing to do!”

Pale blizzard blue eyes watched the clown in surprise and scanned the stressed CP before him, LJ’s hands clenched on his legs that were crossed in a pretzel, his sharp teeth grinding hard together, his eyes reflecting severe animosity. Sure, he had seen the monochrome man angry before and knew of his hatred for kids, but this seemed to dig far deeper into him. Lies, one thing Jeff couldn’t stand and LJ’s words and appearance suggested the same frustration. Jeff set the popcorn bag down, pulling his dangling legs off the side of the shack to his chest and rested his arms on them before nodding and his voice came out wobbly as he huffed.

“Guess we have more in common than I thought..”

Confusion overtook LJ’s anger, turning his gaze to Jeff. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Lying, you hate lies because someone has lied to you like others have lied to me. Hate to state the obvious but that’s what I’m hearing and seeing.” Jeff replied, only taking a peek in Lj’s direction before looking back at the carnival.

Unsure what to think or say for the moment, LJ crossed his arms and turned his head away from the pale killer. The sun was below the horizon when LJ spoke again, his voice was flat and eyes watching as the sky grew dark and joyful screams filled the carnival. “So, what happened with your face?”

Despite the offensive question, Jeff mumbled his reply bitterly. “Fucking assholes attacked me and burned me, I was taken to the hospital but damage was too severe to fix. My damn family lied to me about how I looked and how I could move on, but I knew damn well I had no chance.”

“And that’s why you killed them?”

“I only tell what I want. What about you? What’s with your obsession with kids?”

LJ was equally irritated by the phrasing of the question but answered. “I was promised to be taken care of, but instead I was locked away for years. Let’s just say I didn’t have a pleasant time in my box.”

“So, not so different right?” Jeff questioned, looking at LJ and the clown met his gaze to answer his question.

“Suppose not..hey, want to go steal stuff now? We still have a couple hours before Thanksgiving starts at home.”

Jeff watched LJ’s form, he did seem more relaxed now, but an unsettling feeling was left in his gut. “You know, I can pawn off valuables later. Let’s just continue killing around here for a bit.”

Eyes widened in surprise, but a grin formed on LJ’s face, getting to his feet and spreading his arms out as he proclaimed. “Then let’s not waste any more time! We have many teens and adults to kill!”

A smirk lifted on Jeff, the killer getting up and following LJ off the side of the shack and following him through the unsuspecting masses. Both CP’s had the same thought pass through their minds as the tension eased out from their bodies, this guy wasn’t so bad. Back at the manor, most CP’s had calmed down, Dr.Smiley attending to everyone he could find or that would let him close and began to develop his theory on the repercussions the CP’s were having. The ones that were not affected at all actually looked confused and somewhat concerned for the CP’s that were heavily affected. One incident was Papa Grande who began mumbling to himself rapidly to the point Jason set aside his stuffed animal to check on the magician, along with Bloody painter that literally collapsed and Nathan Nobody had to help him into his bed.

Dr.Smiley made his way back to the kitchen and commented. “Well Slender, if this is how everyone is acting during Thanksgiving, I’ll be really impressed if they don’t pass out on Christmas.”

“Is it that bad?” Slender asked with concern, looking to the crazed doctor.

“Everyone is piecing themselves back together, but yes, many have gone through break downs since their memories flooded back to them.”

“But it has no effect on you, don’t you think that is a little odd?” 

“Ah,” Dr.Smiley moved to sit on a stool that Sally uses to get to the supplies. “I have a theory on that. I have no regrets of what I done, I do not miss my life and I know very well of the good and bad times I’ve had. I believe those that are not affected are the ones that have either accepted what has happened to them, or have no remorse of their past.”

“I see, and you assume Ally is not affected from lack of experience in Thanksgiving. What about Ben, Lost Silver, Sonic EXE, and all the others?”

“By what I’ve seen, the CP’s formed from technology or with animalistic nature do not have any experience in the holidays. But I will say this, I don’t believe Ben is like Lost Silver.”

Slender turned to him, walking to the counter to talk to him face to face, so to speak that is. “What do you mean? He is from a cartridge game.”

“I mean, that I think he is human, or at least was human. While he does possess technologic powers like the other techy CP’s he still has blood, which is something the other video game CP’s do not possess. Sonic for example has blood from his victims or dark matter that makes him look more menacing, and Lost Silver does not bleed anymore because he is already dead and only carries his stained blood.”

“The point being you’re assuming he was human. As much as I would like to believe you doctor, Ben has not said a thing about his past, only gloating about his kills and successfully entering the internet from his entrapment.”

“Oh i’m sure he’ll open up eventually. How is dinner coming along?”

“Nearly done, in fact, if you would not mind spreading the news I’ll get the table ready.”

Dr.Smiley nodded and got up, walking through the halls and informing those that he saw of dinner being ready. Slender started to set the table and prayed that this evening wouldn’t end in a massacre. In a sudden flash of thought, Slender opened his telepathic abilities and called out into the void that dinner was ready, hoping it reached everyone. It seemed to have worked because Rake, Smile dog, and Seedeater were the first to dash into the large dining room with drooling mouths. One by one, then two or three at a time, CP’s filled the dining room and a few let out hums of delight or gasps of the amounts of food laid out on the table. LJ and Jeff appeared through the wall in a shadow and Slender scolded them. “Hold it! You two need to wash the blood off before you can eat. That goes for anyone with blood on them!”

“Son of a bitch.” Jeff grumbled and walked off to clean his hands, Hobo Heart using a napkin to clean the blood that was dripping down his chest.

A few groans left the CP’s as they tried to wipe off any blood that could drip onto the food, soon after they began to sit in chairs and started to pass around the plates to get the food. Slender was serving the more animalistic CP’s and was fairly surprised by how civil the CP’s were being at the table, while none gave out pleases or thank you’s they did pass food around without any arguments or conflicts. Toby chuckled as Masky did try to hit him for hogging the buns and Hoodie had to snatch the basket away before the buns could fall out. “Toby knock it off.”

Slender sat at the end and Dr.Smiley sat near him, eyes carefully observing the CP’s behaviors. The ones that sat next to each other were either familiar with each other or saw no other place to sit. Puppeteer and Bloody Painter sat together, the painter slowly taking off his mask, in fact anyone that hid their face were hesitant to reveal their face but couldn’t eat with them on. All except EJ who just tilted it up a bit and took a bite of food. Ally sat next to Slender as well and smiled at him, swallowing some turkey before complimenting. “Slender this is amazing! Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“A few days ago.” He answered, getting a disbelieved look from Liu who sat a few chairs down. 

“You can’t be serious, are you learning how to cook as you go?”

“Oh yes, I do not need to eat food, I normally just eat souls. So as soon as I started finding CP’s I needed to learn how to cook for you all.”

“I can’t wait for Christmas then!” Zero cackled. “There’s lots of good shit to make there.”

Splendor was pouring cider into Sally’s cup as she exclaimed. “I want to make all the Christmas sweets!”

“Well it cost money to get the supplies Sally, and I’m not sure how many people here are interested in sweets.” Slender replied softly but then Kate shrugged, taking her mask off.

“I like cookies, you can just make a ton of those.”

Nathan surprisingly spoke out, being loud enough to hear while still having a gentle tone to his voice. “I’m just glad to celebrate Thanksgiving again, it has been a while.”

Four-eyed-Jessy nodded in agreement, a gentle smile growing on her face. “Yeah, I remember before I became a killer, my mom made the best candied yams.”

“You had a mom?” Nick questioned, looking up from his food with his pale eyes. “I thought you said your father took care of you.”

“This was before my mom died.” She shrugged in reply. “Anyone else got anything to share?”

Sonic was the next to pitch in, sitting next to the Tails doll and Lost Silver. “I never celebrated it, I think I speak for everyone that was born from a computer game.”

One of the teen CP’s, named Oliver but called The Tattler, said softly as he played with his food. “Our village was too poor to celebrate, we normally hunted our food and threw a town feast.”

“You were in the 1700’s though, not like there were many people to celebrate with.” Mr.Widemouth joked cruelly.

“What about you EJ?” Dr.Smiley asked, seeing this as a chance to get information. “Did you celebrate Thanksgiving?”

“yes, my family and I celebrated every year,” EJ replied swiftly. “My family was religious so it was important to celebrate.”

“Fuck religion.” Jeff scoffed, finishing a bite of his turkey. “Now that I’m in this mansion, it’s pretty clear there’s no gods, just fucking demons.”

“That’s not entirely true.” Bloody Painter argued, his blue eyes looking to the pale man. “If anything with all that has happened to us, it’s clear there might be a god.”

LJ cackled, along with a few other CP’s. “Oh please, if there was a god why didn’t he spare some of us “innocent souls?” I agree with Jeff, religion is shit.”

Zero snickered to herself. “Plus it just weighs you down.”

Dr.Smiley quickly tried to get them off the religion topic, speaking to Ben next. “What about you Ben?”

The pointed ears tilted up and his red eyes looked up, seeming uneasy by the question. “No, never.”

“Come on doc, we already went through this.” Sonic gestured to Ben. “He’s a technology born CP, so he couldn’t have the chance.”

Ben said nothing, but Dr.Smiley saw how he averted his eyes from the group, he had to have been hiding something. Puppeteer reached his golden strings across to grab a bun, to which Hoodie smacked the strings away and commented. “Couldn’t you just ask like a normal person?”

“Who the hell says any of us are normal?” The gray skinned man sneered. “Why are we all acting like we’re friends here? For the sake of all unholy things, we’re monsters.”

Splendor pouted before piping up. “We’re all in the same boat, if we’re all living together we might as well act a bit friendly.”

“Friendly?!” Clockwork snapped, her fist coming down on the end of her fork. “None of us are friends! We’re all just stuck here because this pale ass monster says we’re family!”

“Jeez, looks like someone’s on her period.” Offender joked to Kage, who snickered in reply.

Skully stood and glared at Clockwork. “Slender has given us all a second chance, freedom and a home.”

“You call this a home? Ok sure, it’s an awesome mansion, but look at us! We’re disasters.” Clockwork growled back, standing up as well.

“Come on Clockwork, just admit you like getting off on causing drama.” Jason smirked at her, seeing the female get red with anger and pick up a knife to throw.

Many CP’s were about to get up, now feeling alarmed and guarded as Clockwork threw the knife, but a black tendril snatched the knife in the air before it could make contact to Jason’s head. Slender’s tendril reached a good three feet from his back in order to grab it, slowly his tendril retracted and set the knife beside him. “Clockwork, sit down.”

The order rattled her, just as it did with everyone and with much hesitation she sat down and the CP’s watched Slender. Everyone was waiting for what the tall man would say, even the more animal-like CP’s stopped devouring their food to look up and listen to commotion at the table. Slender released a mental sigh and turned his head to Clockwork. “Clockwork, if you really do not like it here, you can go.”

This response made her blink, narrowing her eyes in suspicion as she asked. “What?”

“The point of this place is to keep you all safe, or at least provide a shelter and medical attention if you need it. I never expected so many to stay nor did I expect to even find so many of you, but I had hoped to save many souls like yourself. You all are special cases, for whatever reason god, the devil, or maybe just fate, decided to keep you all alive or create you in the first place. I am not expecting you to be a family, or to make conversation as if there is no history between each other, all I ask is that you at least feel comfortable enough to be yourselves. To be human, monster, or supernatural people.”

There was a stunned silence, eyes darting around to each other for a bit before Offender stood up with his glass and held it out. “To my brother, Slender, you’re a crazy SOB. I hope we find more CP’s to add to this chaotic group.”

It was a surprise to Slender his brother even spoke that way about him, and even more to his surprise, others began lifting their glasses and some called out. “To Slender.”


	12. Bring on the Trouble

Thanksgiving was not the worst experience Slender has had, he was actually pleased with how things went and was satisfied that Splendor and Trender said they would take care of the CP’s while he and Papa Grande went looking for the Creature for Zalgo. Following what clues they had, Slender teleported them around constantly and his energy was sapped when they had reached one of the most famous dark forests in the world, the Black Forest located in Germany. There are of course many forests that could be the home to the demon they were looking for, but reports were almost always given in various spots of Europe and even a couple occasions in Asia. Papa Grande was patient, and with his human appearance he would go to the several locals in the area and ask if they had any legends revolving around the creature they were searching for.

Slender remained in the woods while waiting for Grande to inform him of any news he would have gathered. The man soon walked into the Black Forest and looked up at Slender, leaning his saw on his shoulder. “The locals are very certain of a legendary creature that would warn other humans to stay away by leaving traces of human bodies in the trees and on the forest floor.”

“Then perhaps we can find it here.” Slender nodded before turning to the forest and began walking. “This will at least help me regain my strength.”

Grande followed close to him, questioning him. “I thought you needed souls to regain your strength?”

“I can survive without souls for a bit, some rest and not using my abilities help.”

“Slender, do you mind if I ask a personal question?”

“It sort of depends, what does the question entail?”

“About your immortality, why do some of the CP’s still seem to be aging while others are not?”

Slender felt his blood turn cold but continued to walk through the thick forest. “To put it simply, you have to...earn your immortality.”

“So there is a test, something greater than you?”

“You can say that..”

“Why are you so reluctant to tell me about this?”

“Because,” Slender suddenly hissed out at him. “The ones that are testing the CP’s are far more powerful than Zalgo and I. Almost like gods themselves, it is a very complex situation.”

Now Grande looked defensive, narrowing his eyes at him. “You are letting stronger creatures control you and the other CP’s.”

“No, they only give me the power to try and save others as I had hoped.”

“And what do they get from it? What happens to you if something goes wrong?”

Both had now stopped walking, the sky was barely visible now from the large trees surrounding them and the air felt heavy from both the fog and the words being passed between them. Slender’s mouth slowly tore and a growl left him. “They get souls from this, humans that are killed are collected for them. And as for what happens to me is not your concern.”

“No, it’s not as a stranger, but as someone that is involved in the CP’s and attempting his own immortality it is a big deal.” Grande huffed and the end of his saw met the ground as he swung it off his shoulder. “I’ll tell you what happens, your lords probably kill you or strip you of your immortality.”

“Grande you are trying my-”

A howl from the distance cut the two off, both turning their heads to the darkness and slowly moving to the echoing howl. It was close to a wolf, but more demonic and doubled, like the echo of the voice was followed by another voice of the same exact tone and pitch. Slender was caught between calling out to the creature, or proceeding to investigate quietly. Opting for the silent tactic, he telepathically told Grande to part from his side and investigate farther out, to which the magician did. The fog was unbearably thick, almost as mystic as the fog in Slender’s forest rolling in at the most unexpected times, and Grande became more alert when Slender’s figure was nowhere visible. It felt risky to call out to him and decided to stay quiet and fix his grip on the saw handle.

“Grande.”

The feminine voice startled him, turning around to see the woman he once called his love, his wife. Her chocolate brown hair tied back in a bun and her jade green eyes shining in the night, a gentle smile graced her face and her fair skin glowing with the blue dress she wore. Grande felt his heart stop and slowly walked closer.

“Melanie? My dove is that you?”

“I’ve missed you, love.”

She began to step closer, the two near to arms length before a tendril wrapped around her waist and yanked her back, her screaming in surprise and Grande raised a hand to grab her but saw Slender there. “Slender put her down!”

“It’s not a “her” Grande.” Slender commented before turning “melanie” to look at “her” as she squirmed. “You can transform now.”

A growl left the Spector and the tall figure set the smaller form down, the body shifting into a large shadow with two large white eye sockets on the head and a jagged white grin graced it’s face. It stood on two legs, ranging around nine feet tall which surprised Slender by the height, Slender was able to manipulate his height when he wanted but stayed around nine or ten feet. The body of the Creature was simplistic, a shadow with strands of shadows following like a cape or a frayed sweater and both hands had five long claws ranging about a foot long. Grande stared in shock at the equally tall creature that had formed itself into the vision of his late wife and snapped. “How dare you pretend to be her! How do you even know of my wife?”

The Creature looked at Grande and spoke in a gravelly voice. “Memories are easy to see, harder to pretend to be.”

“You use this ability to catch your prey.” Slender answered simply and it turned its head back to Slender.

“How did you know I was not her?” 

“Dark forest, a woman who Grande lost, killings took place here as well. It holds all the signs of a cliche kill.”

For a second it looked like the shadow was offended, but only let out a chuckle and nodded. “Fair enough. Why are you here?”

“For you actually, a bargain if you will.”

“I am not interested, I have all I need from the forests.”

“It will not tear you away from the forest Mr..”

“Just call me Creature, everyone does.”

“Very well..allow me to explain my proposal.”

Slender then began to tell Creature about Zalgo, the recent troubles between the realms, and the life of safety and freedom so long as he helped watch over Zalgo’s woods. Creature did not require food, only souls, and it slept during the day which works perfectly for the CP’s sleep cycle. Grande watched, still miffed about the monster forming into the woman he loved so dearly, but listened as the deal carried on. After the explanation, Creature moved a claw to its jaw and lightly tapped its jaw in thought. 

“An interesting proposal..but will there be others to watch the boundary with me?”

“That is something you would need to ask Zalgo.”

“Hmm..and I can still go anywhere I want?”

“Anywhere your abilities can take you, I assume you do not just reside here.”

It nodded and clarified for them. “I go to many forests in Europe but I do have a spot in Korea as well, hence my ability to speak different languages. The forests I stay to are in Germany, Hungarian, Italy, England, Spain, and Korea. Germany is new to me, so I do not yet know how to speak the language.”

“We didn’t come all the way here for a lesson.” Grande grumbled. “Are you going to come with us or not?”

Slender wasn’t too happy by his grumpy attitude but Creature just pushed past the man’s frustration. “Sorry about-”

“No it’s alright, I will join you both, but do you mind if I take some time to hunt and then we can go?”

“That should be fine, we will wait here.” Slender replied with a nod and watched the shadow figure shift into a little blonde girl with a red dress and ran off into the fog. “Most peculiar demon I have ever met.”

“He’s a lot like you.” Grande scoffed, sitting on the ground and leaning back on one of the trees.

Slender’s mouth formed back together to once again be a smooth pale face and turned to Grande. “I do sincerely apologize that he made you upset.”

“Not like it was your doing, it just angers me.”

“That is obvious, how did she die?”

“I thought you could read every memory I have?” He replied, looking up at him with narrowed eyes.

“I can, but even I know when not to tread into someone’s most pained memories.”

The magician seemed satisfied with this answer and sighed. “Melanie..She died from a cancerous tumor..and the doctors said she and my baby were not going to live..”

Slender knelt down, putting a hand on the magician’s shoulder and replied softly. “I’m sorry, I wish things could have turned out differently..but that’s why I’m finding CPs. The ones that are in charge of me have no control over the Creepypasta’s, they are my responsibility alone. And I want to help them.”

Standing back up, Slender waited for Creature’s return and Grande thought carefully about the whole situation with the CP’s. While there was much Slender was honest about, there seemed to still be things even he couldn’t explain. The idea of there being a higher being though did unnerve Grande, but there was not much he could say to that and all that he can do is not say a thing to the other CP’s. After a few minutes, Creature came running back and flicked some blood off his claws as he rasped out. “Ready to go?”

Slender nodded, Grande standing beside him as the pale man replied. “Certainly.”

Candypop was a new addition, the clown became fast friends with LJ and Jason the toymaker, he was an odd man in the sense that he seemed to embody both good and bad. One moment he would be kind and playful, then the next he could be cruel and sadistic, traits that several of the CP’s had learned just from one day of knowing him. One of his favorite gags is to turn invisible and startle others by lifting something from them or gently tapping their shoulders, yet when he was in a kinder mood he would tell jokes and join in on the CP’s interests. Many of the members of the mansion had left for the night, even the CP’s that can pass into video games had their own virtual haunting spree which left a couple proxies at the mansion and no one else.

Toby was even having his own night to himself as he swung down from one of the apartment’s gutters right into an open window, the twitchy man taking a few valuables left out and smirking seeing the light to the bathroom on. After stuffing what valuables he could into his coat pocket he held up one of his hatchets and used his free hand to test the door knob, when it opened he could see the outline of someone in the shower with their ipod on the counter blasting out music. He crept in slowly and turned the music up louder, while it did catch the woman’s attention it was too late as he swung his hatchet down onto her head, a choked and pained gasp left the woman as she dropped to the floor of the tub. It wasn’t the most satisfying kill but he still had the whole night to find more exciting victims, and with that quickly left the bathroom and climbed down from the window into the alleyway.

The night was chilled and clouded, little flurries falling from the sky and accumulating to the snow that had already collected in the city, now reaching three inches. Toby began looking at the items he had collected before hearing a scream not too far from his location and decided to see what the commotion was about. Sprinting down the alleys and climbing one of the chain fences, he reached another set of apartments and watched as a blue hooded figure climbed down the window and jumped down with a perfect landing. Toby smiled and walked over as he called out. “Hey EJ!”

EJ jolted at the sudden call and turned to the twitchy proxy, stuffing the kidney he had in his hand into a ziplock bag he kept in his pocket. “Toby? What are you doing here?”

“The same as you! Killing some people and stealing their belongings.” Toby emphasized and showed him a necklace with an opal pendant. “Want to kill together?”

“Um..no thanks Toby, I prefer to hunt alone.” EJ replied, turning and began walking down the alley to the street, but was followed by Toby who only chuckled.

“Come on! I thought we all bonded at dinner yesterday?”

“That dinner was such a disaster..”

“Really? I thought the food was great.”

“No I mean..” EJ paused for a second as a man walked by, just because it was really late didn’t mean there were not people around. When the man passed by the cannibal continued. “I mean that it was a shit show. People were nearly stabbed and it was kind of awkward interacting with the others.”

Toby only chuckled in response. “Not like you interact with the CP’s that much anyways. You’re always either out killing, in your room, or with Dr. Smiley. But hey, it looks like you’ve made friends with Seedeater.”

“He’s..interesting but we don’t interact that much.”

“Dr. Smiley.”

“We do talk a lot but he often kicks me out when he has a victim, or I leave if he’s raving mad over something.”

“Ben?”

EJ had to think for a second and shrugged. “The kid is just as antisocial as me, we’re more like acquaintances. Toby, as a proxy, have you noticed anything odd?”

“Depending on what you mean by odd, we have a lot of odd people in the family.”

“The interactions of the CP’s and humans, even though we all have different killing methods and are normally spread out over several parts of this city or another, I wonder if the human’s have caught on.”

“Not really, Slendy has been reading the paper to keep an eye on the news, and we’ve only noticed more dumb or drunk people coming to the forest.”

They were starting to walk down the sidewalk that left the city and moved towards the parks and residential areas, the park held a playground and was close to a middle school. Toby skipped ahead and then noticed a couple cop cars zipping passed them and heading deeper into the city. “They certainly are in a hurry.”

EJ watched as the cars passed then said. “See this is what I mean, the cops are probably suspicious and maybe some FBI agents or something will come to investigate. We need to figure out a better way of being able to do our kills and not make the whole city go into lock down.”

“And how would we do that? Lighten up EJ, they don’t know it’s us.” Toby grinned, picking up a stick and knocking it against the fence of the school playground area. “Most humans don’t even know what a Creepypasta is.”

“That doesn’t mean they can’t learn..”

“Damn fucking straight.”

Both Toby and EJ looked over to see Ben walking out from the park area, the two confused why the boy was coming out of the forest. Toby was the first to ask however. “What’s up Ben? What were you doing at the playground?”

“It’s none of your fucking business.” Ben scowled at him then added. “Jack is right, the police are catching on and people are starting to get concerned.”

“But it’s not like they have proof it’s us right?” Toby questioned before Ben pointed his finger up and they all looked to a security camera mounted on a pole.

“Shit..” EJ grumbled. “We have to take it down.”

“Or break it!” Toby smirked and raised the stick up but Ben quickly grabbed his arm.

“No! Let me.” Ben offered then levitated up and got close to the camera, making it fuzz out on its visual before he began to disconnect the wires.

“We need to inform Slender.” EJ reasoned and started to walk faster towards home.

Ben and Toby quickly followed, Toby getting farther ahead of them both and Ben catching up to EJ’s pace. “EJ, I think we should leave.”

The blue masked man turned to look at the smaller CP and questioned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“If humans, FBI, police, or whatever come after us then the mansion is no longer safe. We need to leave asap.” 

“We don’t know that, we should inform Slender but not evacuate until we know what’s going on. So, what were you doing in the woods?”

Ben glared at him and huffed. “Didn’t I say it was none of your business?”

“Actually you said that to Toby, come on Ben I won’t tell anyone.” EJ said softly, noticing how Toby was basically gone from running ahead.

“I don’t know, ok? I was just walking after a kill and needed to think.” 

The curt reply left EJ even more curious but didn’t press on the subject, only nodding his head and circling back to their earlier conversation. “Well, let’s go talk to Slender, that is if Toby hasn’t already beat us there.”

“You don’t honestly think the survival of the CP’s is going to be the first thing he says to him right?”

“No, but Slender could read his mind. Let’s just go find out.”

Nick was scrambling to his feet after jumping out of an apartment window, his shoulder was bleeding heavily and staining the white snow under his feet. His legs screamed in pain from the rough landing and the sudden running without stretching the muscles was unbearable, but he couldn’t slow down. Cops were flooding the city in full force without a real idea what caused this, Nick was just killing a man in his home and all of a sudden police were flooding the apartment. This also resulted in a bullet grazing him during his escape, the only thing he could think of that happened is another CP being in the same building and leaving minutes before him. The pale CP continued to run down the alleys and streets before skidding to a stop behind a convenience store and fell on his ass to relax his muscles. Thinking how sore he was going to be tomorrow made him cringe, the snow that started to soak his pants was not the biggest concern to him at the moment. 

He lifted his side strap bag onto his lap and took out a needle and surgical thread, he pushed his purple sweater down his left shoulder and hissed as the fabric dragged down his open cut. Slipping the thread into the eye of the needle he began to stitch his wound up with pained gasps and shaky fingers. He continued to stitch himself up and held his tongue if someone was passing by, when he finished he tied the thread before biting and cutting it with his teeth and pulled his sweater back into place. In the chance he would get shot up, that’s what this kit was used for, while sitting he took this time to look at the stuff he stole for the night. A collection of watches, jewelry, occasional bits of cash and a couple cards, it was enough to satisfy him. Nick’s stomach growled loudly and he decided to get up and walk into the store, pulling his beanie down a bit and looked for a couple snacks to get and his attention was taken by the TV in the store when he saw a familiar face.

He grabbed a couple bags of chips and brought it to the counter before pointing to the TV. “Hey, can you turn the volume up?”

The cashier seemed too tired to care and turned the volume up while scanning the snacks he left on the counter. Nick kept his back to the cashier as he watched the news which was labeled with the urgent news of “killers are at large”. The woman showed a picture of what looked like Seedeater but it was blurry, only it’s fur was really noticeable. 

“Tensions are getting higher and the police are encouraging people to stay inside with doors locked. Many deaths have taken hold of this county and the next county over, victims vary in age and it would seem there is no pattern to these killings. The police suspect there are multiple killers involved, and even possible for the killers to be connected in some way. A surveillance camera was also corrupted and only a brief video could be seen of possible suspects. If anyone has any leads on the killers or see anything suspicious please call the police.”

Nick shivered a bit seeing the picture change and showed what looked like a video of two shadowy figures before a third figure appeared and the screen went static with an eerie glow. After paying the cashier he quickly grabbed his snacks and stuffed them in his bag, then proceeded to curse to himself as he ran towards the forest. “Damn it Ben! Getting us exposed like that.”

Getting back to the mansion he was greeted with a surprise when reaching the mansion and seeing several of the CP’s gathered in the living room. Many of them were talking among themselves, Nick tapping on Nina’s shoulder and asking. “What’s going on?”

“Emergency meeting I guess, apparently there was some shit that went down in the city.” She replied with a shrug.

Slender arrived before Nick could ask for details, Ben and EJ by his side as he started to talk. “Everyone, we have a serious problem. The collected amount of you are being caught on the news and alarms have raised because of all the kills, but now that means we need to lay low. I will ask that only those that need to kill for food or life support can go kill, the rest of you will need to avoid killing until suspicions have lowered. That does not mean you have to stay here, and if you really have an itch to kill, please take your killing spree as far away as you can. We will see how the news reacts after a couple weeks.”

Protests and groans filled the room, everyone raising their voices to be heard which only made things worse, it came to the point that even Smile started barking and growling. The voices were only put to silence by Hoodie pulling his hood up a bit and placed two fingers into his mouth before letting out a loud sharp whistle. When the voices had at least reduced to murmurs, Masky was actually the next to speak. “Enough with the petty complaining, you all can wait a few weeks without killing. If it’s that much of a problem, take it to another city, go fucking steal a car and travel elsewhere.”

“Come the fuck on, we can just kill the police if they get in the way.” Kagekao shrugged off.

“And have the government come to investigate the city? Yeah, no thanks.” Jane growled, not too pleased by the problem at hand.

Slender nodded his head and gestured to the crowd. “Then it’s settled, unless you need to kill humans to survive, no one will kill for December.” 

The tall man left the room and slowly CP’s dispersed, some wandered around the first floor, and others trailed upstairs. This next few weeks would be interesting for everyone, most stuck in the mansion, but to Slender it was an opportunity. He could prepare for Christmas and most CP’s would be at the mansion to connect with others, and seeing how Thanksgiving affected some he wondered how Christmas would change their behaviors. Before he arrived at his office, Slender turned to Skully and asked. “Skully, do you suppose you can help me decorate the inside of the mansion?”

Confused, the proxy tilted his head and questioned in return. “Decorate? For what?”

“Christmas, I believe at least making the downstairs festive might bring in some more repressed memories for everyone.” 

“Oh, sure, I guess. What do you want to get?”

“I’m not entirely sure. I’ve never celebrated Christmas, so perhaps you can assist me?”

“I can try, I’ll get Kate too.” Skully shrugged and walked off to find the proxy woman.

Slender sat on his chair and began to look through newspapers to see what the current news was, as well as clipping out a few coupons for shopping another day. He was really going to need to get more money for this season, and without hunting people down in the city it was not going to be easy. Skully and Kate entered the room, the male proxy already had explained what Slender wanted and they began to list out some decorations that they could get. Slender listened in the background, only interacting with them when they asked what he thought, and after some time Slender then asked.

“Any ideas for getting money?”

“Why not just ask the CP’s that have to hunt to steal while they’re out?” Skully suggested, only to have Kate reply with a sigh.

“Because they might forget, you know we could have Ben get us money. Since he is a virus or something he could hack into a bank out of the country.”

“Only if it doesn’t trace back to us.” Slender reasoned but over all agreed. “Kate if you want to go speak with him Skully and I can finish the list.”

She nodded and sprinted out of the room, leaving them alone as they looked over the list and Slender said. “Once we get some money I’ll need proxies to go and buy the supplies.”

“You don’t want to come along sir?”

“I would but maintaining a human form will only last for a little over an hour, it would not be enough to shop for everything.”

“How about you get the tree then and we can get the home décor, you can have someone with you to help and if there’s an emergency then you can vanish.”

Slender nodded and the two went quiet for a minute while looking at some other decorations on the newspaper, however Skully then commented quietly. “Slender, if there is a point where the humans are hunting us, we should have a back up plan.”

“I will ask Zalgo for shelter, the mansion can always be repaired.” Slender replied with very little hesitation. “It’s only important to make sure everyone gets out safely if humans do become a problem.”

“Do you think that humans will become more aware of us?”

“Well yes, but if they keep their stories to the media then no one will think we’re real. The websites that detail the Creepypasta stories are partial fabrications, things seen or heard by others but not proven true or proven to be supernatural. Police and governments would not try to hunt down things that might not be true or have stories that are not plausible in their eyes.”

“So in short, we’re safe so long as we don’t leave witnesses.”

“Yes that is a better way of putting it.” 

Kate ran back in, panting a bit and saying. “Ben said he would tap in to what he could and pull some money, but he’s never hacked into a bank before so it might be a couple hours.”

“Of course, I don’t want him to rush something like this.” Slender agreed and stood up, taking the list from Skully’s hand. “I believe this is enough for now, we can start shopping once we collect the money. You two can go now, it’s pretty late.”

Both nodded and left Slender alone, Kate glanced at Skully and muttered quietly. “He really thinks the others will get along by being trapped here?”

“If everyone kills each other then no, but it might not be all that bad.” Skully replied hopefully. “I mean you saw what happened on Thanksgiving, everyone was kind of passive.”

“Until Clockwork exploded with anger.” Kate pointed out.

Skully smirked and replied. “That was pretty fun to watch though, I was more surprised by Offender’s little speech.”

“It was shocking, he never seemed interested in making peace with the CP’s. Either he’s obsessed with drinking or flirting with us.” Kate practically shuddered with that sentence, being one of the few girls he flirted with.

“They are brothers, most siblings have some form of respect for each other. Let’s get into the security room.”

In the darkness of the castle of Zalgo’s dimension, the demon smirked at the red ring mirror showing him the mansion. The chaos was just what he needed, his CP’s can go to the cities to hunt and that would give him time to say hello to Slender’s CP’s. “Shadow Lurker!”

“Yes Lord Zalgo?” Lurker walked to the tall demon, who sat at his throne and made the ring vanish.

“Did you manage to find the gem?”

The man held up a red gem in his hand, it formed a roughly circular shape, but not a perfect circle due to the craftsmanship of the time it was made. Zalgo took it and his grin grew to a malicious one, making his hand glow to light up the gem before pressing it to the center of his collarbone and letting it meld with his skin. A grunt of pain escaped him but he only chuckled once it finished forming into his skin. “The Timur spindel, one of the most powerful gems in history with abilities beyond any human’s knowledge. Good work Shadow Lurker, keep finding these ancient treasures. They will prove most helpful to us.”


	13. Connecting by Storm

(I do mention a couple origin stories in this chapter, please understand that what I explain is the ones supported by wiki’s and authors. Ones that do not have a solid origin story I use what is at my disposal)

The first week of December seemed to roll by without issues, but when the second week hit tensions were high among everyone in the mansion. Even the ones that were allowed to hunt had to bring bodies home because the snow kept piling up, it already reached the second step up to the porch and every morning old footprints would be covered by a fresh layer. However, Slender did try to keep the peace inside the mansion, checking around constantly and adding a couple more decorations as he went. There was now a Christmas tree in the living room, with the couches pushed aside for more room, the family room had a garland of lights draping over the shelves of games and movies under the TV, a few knickknacks spread around the house, and several other items. Sally was having a blast with the Christmas themed cookie cutters and all the baking supplies, and day by day Slender placed a new gift under the tree which made a few CP’s stop to take notice.

While some CP’s were at each other's throats for having no stress release, others were enjoying the cozy atmosphere by snacking in their rooms, watching movies, or any activity that suited them. Hobo Heart was curled up on one of the living room chairs with a blanket and reading, a few of the female CP’s were watching some Christmas comedies and gossiping about their kills, and Puppeteer was bugging Bloody Painter while the man painted. In short, those ready to kill hid in their room, and those enjoying the peace were actually doing things they liked. The odds of reactions were not what Slender or Dr. Smiley had predicted, but both assume that when Christmas comes closer there will be bigger results from the CP’s repressed memories. However, there was one CP that seemed to either constantly be in a daze or muted if anyone was around him, and that was Ben.

It got to the point where Ben would sometimes just stare at certain decorations or out the window at the snowy ground. The silent actions actually worried Slender and decided to speak about it with Dr.Smiley, the two sitting in the slightly cooler conservatory room and Dr.Smiley drank some coffee while Slender drank tea. 

“It just boggles my mind Dr. Smiley, he claims to not have been human but continues to act like he’s reliving memories. I can’t read his mind without him either blocking me or becoming defensive, and trying to ask about it he only pushes me aside.”

“I think that he needs to talk to someone he trusts,” Dr. Smiley hummed, enjoying the warm coffee that pooled in his stomach. “Just ask someone else to talk to him.”

“I somehow don’t think any of the tech CP’s will be willing since emotions are not something they really care to talk about.”

“Ah~ That is why I suggest Eyeless Jack.”

“Eyeless Jack?” Slender questioned, sure the cannibal was very mature and was logical, but he never recalled Ben or EJ saying they were “friends”.

“Trust me on this Slender, if you want I can ask EJ to speak to Ben.” Dr. Smiley responded and stood up, taking another sip of his coffee. “Do you know where Ben was last?”

“By the Christmas tree, I think playing on his DS.” Slender answered and stood up as well. “Thank you for hearing me out, and if you have any more theories please let me know.”

“Of course.” 

Both respectfully nodded their heads to each other before parting ways, the doctor going to his lab and surprised to see EJ dissecting a human. “What are you up to EJ?”

The blue masked man’s head tilted up in the doctor's direction and shrugged. “Thought I would try other organs. It would be a shame to waste them.”

“Ah, any luck on what you like?”

“Well..so far kidneys still have the most flavor, lungs are juicy but it’s like eating a gusher, too much juices and messy. Stomach is messy and kind of makes me sick, and the heart is like eating a steak so not too bad.”

“Just a word of advice, do not eat the gallbladder if the human has one.” Dr. Smiley joked a little and set his mug down on the counter. “EJ, how close are you with Ben?”

“Ben? Eh, he’s ok, but we don’t talk much.” The cannibal shrugged, keeping his gaze on the body and started to cut out the intestines. “Why?”

“Slender is becoming concerned about Ben’s “episodes,” the boy keeps staring out into space and barely speaks. I was wondering if you would be willing to talk to him.”

“Why me? Can’t you ask Lost silver or Sonic or..anyone of his closer pals?”

“Perhaps, but they lack normal human emotions and memories, all they have to their emotions are sorrow, anger, and joy after killing. Otherwise they are empty shells on the emotion subject. Besides, I think your opinion would be needed for this more since you have lived a longer life than him as a human.”

EJ stopped working, standing up straight and turned to the doctor. “You think he was human once?”

“I believe so,” Dr. Smiley nodded. “I think he has either been lying or withholding his past. And you already have good enough knowledge of a person's mind, so I think you would be helpful.”

Behind the mask, the taller man sighed. “I can try, but don’t get your hopes up.”

“Fair enough, go clean up, I’ll dissect the human the rest of the way. Slender said Ben was by the tree.” Dr. Smiley lightly pushed him aside and put on a pair of latex gloves and started to finish where EJ left off.

Blood was washed down the sink and EJ grumbled at the blood that stained into his hoodie, knowing he would have to wash it out later. Walking out of the lab and heading straight to the living room he saw Hobo Heart leaving the room with a blanket wrapped around him and a book in his hand, the blue eyed man looking up and mumbling. “I wouldn’t go in there right now.”

“Why? Is Ben in there?”

“Yeah, but he’s acting weird, he just keeps staring at the tree.”

“Thank you Hobo Heart.” EJ replied before walking past him into the room and seeing why the winged CP left. The tree was decorated with the rainbow colored lights, a large star at the top, and covered with classy glass ornaments of varied kinds. Ben was indeed there, sitting in front of the tree with his DS open and watching the tree with interest, the multicolored lights from the tree glowing from the tree and reflected against the ornaments. EJ walked over, not trying to hide his presence but also trying not to startle the boy as he sat down a foot away from him. The small sigh that left his lips caught Ben’s attention and red eyes quickly peeked to the man before looking away, he let out a huff as he asked.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing, just coming in to see the tree. A few presents are under it, Slender must be getting everyone a gift.” EJ tried in conversation, looking over the presents and picking one up that was for Jane before setting it back down.

“Guess so, kind of a waste of money though.” Ben shrugged, turning his head back to the tree.

“Speaking of money, you got us a lot from a bank in Austria right?” 

“Yep, it was the easiest one I could crack out of the millions around the world, I thought about doing one in the US but their firewalls are a pain in the ass.”

“How much did you clear out?”

“I managed to get 100k.” Ben smirked, looking at EJ with clear pride of his accomplishment.

“Damn, well that’s pretty cool, should hold us off for a while too.” EJ nodded and then started to shift gears. “So, some of the CP’s are a bit worried about you. A lot of talk about you spacing out and hiding from everyone.”

The smirk fell to a frown and Ben looked back at the tree. “I’m kind of an introvert, I thought that was obvious.”

“Maybe, but I was curious, do you actually have memories? Were you once human?”

“No I wasn’t, so shut the hell up!” Ben snapped back. “I’m tired of everyone trying to get under my skin.”

“I’m not trying to get under your skin, I’m trying to learn about you.” EJ replied, raising his voice to catch Ben’s attention and making the boy glare at him. “Why are you scared to tell anyone about yourself?”

“Because it’s not like I’m staying forever, I don’t need anyone else to know about me.”

“Ben come on, I’m not going to tell anyone else-”

“Oh that’s the biggest fucking lie in the world! People always say that and then they tell one other person and it becomes a firestorm.”

“You can trust me, besides what would I get from telling anyone?”

Ben seemed conflicted and mad, but did see EJ’s point, it’s not like the CP would tell anyone. At the same time though he didn’t want anyone knowing any weaknesses, and seeing this hesitation EJ spoke again. “If you really don’t want to take my word for it then lets make a deal. My secret for yours. Sound fair?”

They continued to stare at each other, waiting for each other to speak further or agree to the terms. After some more thought, Ben’s ears tilted down and he released a sigh of stress. “Fine, we’ll trade, but you have to start.”

“Alright.” EJ nodded, leaning back until his head rested on the cushions of the couch. “Well, I was human, still technically am but that’s beside the point. And to put it in a simple way, I was betrayed or trapped, caught in a satanic ritual of some kind. My eyes were basically melted by tar and the ritual shaped my teeth and changed my skin, it was a whole lot of fun ripping that cult of college fucktards. I guess for some reason the ritual also altered my tastes, I craved organs more.”

“Betrayed huh? Guess that’s something we have similar..”

“Your turn.”

“Right..I’ll try to keep it short as well, I was sacrificed by a cult called the Moon Children, I was drowned..and from that I was born into the game and basically forced to stay there until some kid played the game and let me out. The kid not only let me out but he helped me access the internet, I don’t need any special rituals or needs but I can’t stay away from my technology too long and I can’t swim. So there, happy?”

EJ sat up more as Ben curled his legs to his chest and hid his face in his knees. “Ben, it’s not like you could have stopped them.”

“Yes..I could have, I could have had my life and grown up, instead I’m stuck like this.”

“I thought you liked terrorizing people and hacking into networks?”

“I do, it’s just..sometimes I wish I could have experienced more of being normal before being sacrificed.”

“I get it, I wish I completed college before being killed.”

“What were you studying for?”

“A doctor..”

Ben smirked and let out a snort of laughter. “Guess I should have expected that, you make a good doctor.”

EJ smiled a little under his mask at the irony. “Thanks. So, feel better now?”

“I guess, thanks for bugging me.”

“Oh? Bugging you?” EJ smirked and shoved him, making him yelp as he fell over. “Enjoy your Christmas damn brat.”

Ben moved up to hit him but the taller man jumped back and ran off, but the boy didn’t follow and only smirked and flipped his middle finger up. “Fuck you bastard.”

The technologic CP picked up his DS and went back to playing, EJ taking this time to head back to the lab and noticed Dr. Smiley already cleaned up the room. Now with his own human subject on the table, Dr. Smiley looked up at EJ and waved. “Hello EJ~ So how did things go?”

“Pretty well actually.” EJ shrugged, walking down and looking through the filing cabinet. “Can I improve Ben’s file?”

“Of course! Can I read it after you're done?”

“Sorry Dr. Smiley, but this is confidential information, I hope that’s ok.” EJ replied and picked up a pencil.

“That should be fine, I’ll just assure Slender that at least one person knows about him.”

EJ began to fill out more of the file, initially shocked by how little information they had before now, but he could see Ben’s stride of the story. Like most of the CP’s, they either don’t remember their past or don’t want others to know about it, and EJ was one of those people that didn’t like others knowing his past either. It was a way to protect themselves from the other CP’s. Dr.Smiley continued his work behind him, EJ taking great care to add in every detail he learned about Ben and jotted down some side notes of how touchy the subject was. 

Outside, Masky was patrolling the west side of the forest, shotgun slung over his shoulder and nearing the forest owned by Zalgo. All the CP’s were told to stay away from those woods, but the proxies were informed about The Creature patrolling it to keep others from accidentally entering it. Snow fell in heavy drops and covered the footprints behind him, the weather report stating that it would reach in the low teens that night. The cold made his limbs cold but from the long patrol his feet burned and ached for a moment of rest, the only thing pushing him on was the snowstorm that was to come in the early morning before sunrise. Masky was equipped with a large black winter coat and boots with spikes to keep steady on the snow, although kept his normal jeans and mask. A jingle rang out from his pocket, the man taking out a walkie-talkie and answering it. “Yeah?”

“Masky? You almost back? Kate and Toby just returned.” Skully’s voice called back.

“Almost, I’m about 30 minutes out though, the west side is the farthest distance.”

“Alright man, just try to get here soon, the weather station just warned that the storm was actually going to come in the next hour.”

“Damn it..” Masky gritted his teeth and snapped. “I’m picking up pace, next time send Kate out this way, she’d enjoy the run.”

Putting away the small handheld radio, the proxy removed his mask and took out an emergency snow mask from his coat and slipped it on to cover his mouth and nose. He continued to trek across the snow and grunted as some snowflakes managed to land in his eyes, but he pressed on and took out his flashlight once he realized his eyes wouldn’t be able to both see in the dark and snow. The proxies' visions were actually good in the dark, making it easy to hunt their prey, but it’s easy to be impaired in snow and rain. About to completely pass the Zalgo domain he stopped when seeing a fire at the corner of the border and narrowed his eyes, cautiously stepping closer to the small fire that seemed to endlessly burn on the snowless ground. A dark and tall figure was there, Zalgo himself, sitting beside the fire and playing with a small ember in his hand.

His red eyes looked up at the proxy, giving a large and malign red smile. “Ah, hello there. Masky, correct?”

On guard, and chilled further from the grin, Masky stayed in his place and nodded. “Yeah..you must be Zalgo?”

“So you do know me, Slender must talk a lot about me.” He replied with a guttural and distant scoff.

“You could say that, what the hell are you doing out in the storm?”

“Testing my powers mostly. It’s also good to get out of that stuffy place, I can’t stand to be around CP’s all the time. Besides, the snow can barely touch my territory.”

“A little fucking weird..”

“It’s part of my powers, my demonic abilities can grant just about any wish I desire.” Zalgo gloated before his grin faded to a solum frown. “All but one.”

Masky could bite, and it would be a chance to warm up, he sat down across from Zalgo and enjoyed the dry land and warm fire. “What could that be?”

“My life, my human flesh.” Zalgo answered, getting a perplexed look from Masky which made him chuckle. “Yes, once I was human, everyone has an origin.”

“Didn’t expect you to be human once though, no offense.”

“None taken, we all take different paths and mine lead me to be a powerful being.” Zalgo grinned again. “What about you Masky? What do you wish for most?”

The man stared, not only was he confused by the peaceful demon, but the question alone had him on edge. “Why do you want to know?”

“Curious mostly, everyone wants something. Whether that something is as useless as a toy or as sappy as love, so spill, what do you want most?”

There was silence, the two just staring at each other, one waiting for the other to speak and the other wanting the question to be a joke. After a minute, Masky began to think seriously about the question and shrugged. “To be honest, my normal life back. I mean, my friends and I were dragged into a fucking nightmare and now we have all these responsibilities.”

“No surprise there, Slender can’t watch all those CP’s.”

“Maybe so but he should have chosen people that were already killers! We were just trying to find evidence of Slender! If he didn’t want us finding him, he could have just scared us and ran off.”

“Doesn’t exactly work that way, but if you want, I can give you that.”

“W-wait really?” Masky stared in disbelief before narrowing his eyes. “Hold on, you mean in trade for something else. There’s no way a demon just gives help for free.”

“That’s true.” Zalgo chuckled darkly. “It wouldn’t be a big price though, something that wouldn’t affect you until later in life.”

“Like what? Enough with the damn riddles and hints.”

“Simply, after you die as a human your soul is given to me, to which I can just devour it or I can reincarnate you as a CP and let you work for me. You’ll be living out your human life like you want~”

It felt wrong, everything he was saying sounded wrong, and in a strange way Masky realized his life would be shorter with health conditions. It wasn’t worth living as a human to pay to live and only die before reaching 70, and with a demon’s word that could mean he will only a year before he passes on. “No thanks.”

Zalgo’s grin faded, now confused and looking agitated. “No? I thought you hated working for Slender?”

“Sure, it’s a pain in the ass babysitting a bunch of killers,” Masky started as he stood up. “But I’d rather do that for the rest of my life then have a shitty life alone.”

“You're missing an opportunity..”

Masky cut him off curtly, walking back into the snow and called back. “Tell someone who cares, bye.”

The demon was not satisfied by the man’s answer, much less his ability to convince him, he needed to try harder for the next one. Back at the mansion, Hoodie tapped his foot restlessly on the floor as he sat on the staircase near the front door, watching for Masky’s arrival. Toby was eating a sandwich as he walked over and glanced between the hooded proxy and the door. “What’s with you?”

“Masky hasn’t come back yet..the storm is hitting sooner than we thought.”

“Well hood-man, I think Tim knows how to take care of himself.” Toby replied snidely and chuckled.

Hoodie glared under his hood and stood up. “I’m going to go look for him, Toby, don't make a mess.”

The younger man smirked and put a hand over his heart. “I won’t, I swear by it.”

Opening the door Hoodie was instantly chilled by the air and snow, his feet sunk into the snow as he stepped off the porch and squinted to try and see any figure in the woods. Seeing no one, Hoodie began to track to the west to find Masky, it was hard to walk with the snow covering his feet and impairing his vision more than his hood. Puffs of carbon dioxide filtered out of his mask and began to call out for Masky, he tucked his hands into his hoodie to try and keep them warm, mentally he scolded himself for not preparing for the snow. Within time though he saw something in the distance, a shadowed figure that he couldn’t identify and thus called out. “Masky? Is that you?”

As the figure stopped, Hoodie’s heart froze and gut dropped with the realization he didn’t have a weapon, and the fact that the stranger was now running at him. Whoever it was wore a black hoodie, black boots, and black pants. The person swung his arm and the proxy was quick to catch the arm and throw the man to the ground, letting go at the last second to get his ground and pull up his hood to see. It was startling and confusing to see his hood fall back and the man under the hood was wearing a strange demonic red squid hat. Impossible to see the assailants eyes or hair color, Hoodie began memorizing his face and jumped back as the man swung at him again with incredible speed. Dodging only worked for so long before a fist collided with Hoodie's stomach, sending him skidding across the snow and grunted in pain. 

“Fuck..” Hoodie grumbled and swore his stomach and spleen just swapped places, but looking up to see the man he slammed his foot into the knee of his attacker making him buckle a bit.

Scrambling to his feet, Hoodie looked for something to defend himself, grabbing one of the branches off the ground before facing the now standing squid-man. “Who the hell are you!?”

He said nothing, but a growl left the man’s throat and he lunged at him again. With such speed Hoodie barely had enough time to process the man running at him, he swung the branch and was equally shocked as the guy grabbed the branch. The two proceeded to twist the branch to try and rip it away from each other, Hoodie was barely able to keep a strong grip and internally panicked, this man must have been on steroids! Eventually the branch broke and the strangely powerful man had Hoodie in a headlock, his head was pushed and a fearful shock overcame Hoodie, the guy was trying to twist his head off. Kicking, struggling, fighting as best as he could against the attacker he started to yell out for the other proxies. 

There was a crack and Hoodie fell to the ground for air and relief from the searing pain in his neck. After a minute he was hauled up onto his feet and turned to see Masky there, the butt of his shotgun covered in blood. “Hoodie! What the fuck are you doing out here?”

“I was looking for you! Probably for good reason since this psycho nearly ripped my head off!” Hoodie growled and looked to the bleeding man on the ground, blood seeping through the squid hat and stained the snow. 

“Damn, who is he anyways? That’s a poor choice of headwear.”

“No shit, give me that!” Hoodie snapped with rage and took the gun from his hands and aimed the barrel at the man’s head.

“Whoa! Hold it!” Masky shouted, pulling the gun up to aim at the sky and made Hoodie look at him. “He’s dead, calm the fuck down.”

“He’ll be dead once I blast this slug round into his skull! You didn’t see how he fought Masky, the man is super strong.”

“Then it’s possible he has an addiction to some steroids or is high. Come on, you’re going to get hypothermia like this.” 

Hoodie was pulled along, not given a chance to look back at the bleeding man and was forced to follow his friend back to the mansion. The two figures vanished into the storm, Zalgo watching from the trees and smirked at the bleeding man on the ground. “Tom, you may get up now.”

The bleeding had stopped, the squid-hat man sat up before carefully getting onto his feet, with a low and gravelly voice he snarled. “I missed my damn lunch..”

“Didn’t I say no eating the heads of the proxies?”

“That guy was a proxy?”

A sigh left the larger demon. “You must be the most clueless demon I’ve ever met.”

“Hey! You said if I worked for you that you’d stay out of my business!” 

“No Tom, I said so long as you do not harm the CP’s of the forest without my say so, you could do what you wanted. Now they will most likely be on guard.”

Tom grumbled and pulled his hood back up over the hat. “Well now I need a new head to eat, make me a damn portal.”

Rude as he was, Zalgo obliged and opened a red portal to the city, the possessed man walking through and the portal vanished. Snow sizzled beneath his feet and hissed as it landed on his dark charcoal skin, he started to walk in the direction of home and thought that maybe bringing Tom the Squid was a bad idea. The man was possessed by a demon and had already proven his powers before with healing, strength, and speed; however he did not cooperate well with others and it was a surprise that the body the demon withheld was still not aging. Now that he had attacked a proxy the chances of his plan pushing forward is going to be slowed to surveillance for the time being. 

“A new CP?”

Slender tilted his head and watched as Hoodie removed splinters from his hands and Masky was hanging his wet coat up and removing his snow boots. Hoodie also had taken off his shoes and wet socks to let them get warm from the heat in the room, the surveillance room was the hottest room in the mansion. “Yes, when he attacked me he was super quick and strong, I was about to cough up my lunch with the punch he threw at me. He would have tore my head off if it wasn’t for Masky breaking his skull.”

“Strange indeed..and you’ve checked the camera’s for him? To make sure his body is still there?”

Masky was now the one to respond. “Well the camera’s are on the fritz from the storm, when it let’s up we can check them.”

“Alright, both of you get dried off, I’m going to give the proxies the rest of the day off. There’s not much we can do in this storm anyways.”

“I’m just glad we don’t have to worry about generators or anything..” Masky mumbled, Hoodie nodding in agreement and Slender took his leave.

The two proxies were silent, both collecting their wet clothes to leave the room, Hoodie was soon to speak though. “Hey, thanks for helping me out.”

“No big deal man, it was weird seeing you struggling with someone that was just a bit shorter than you.” Masky replied, his voice sounded weighed in thought, his eyes distant as they watched the ground.

“Yeah..little bastard. You alright?”

Hoodie managed to catch his attention, but his eyes still seemed spaced out. “Of course, why?”

“You seem a bit..well lost in thought I guess is the best way to put it.”

“The walk just made me tired is all, and your fight with that guy made me a bit on edge.”

Hoodie’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying, come on man, I thought we were done with the whole deception thing.”

An inhale, exhale, then inhale again before the proxy took out a cigarette and plopped it into his mouth. “Met Zalgo in the woods..”

“Zalgo? Why didn’t you tell Slender about him?”

“Because the creep would have read my mind, besides he didn’t do anything to me. The demon isn’t as dangerous as Slender makes him out to be.”

“And you know this by meeting him once?” 

A clear unconvinced look crossed Hoodie’s face and Masky glared in response. “It doesn’t matter, just don’t say anything to Slender.”

“Fine, but I have a feeling you won’t be able to hide this.” Hoodie relented and left the room, heading to his own room.

Masky stood there in thought, a sick feeling grew in him over the events of today. Hoodie was attacked by some supernatural person and Zalgo was insistent on having Masky join him, he needed more information on this demon and his habits. Speaking to Slender was not the way to go, the creature would be able to tell something was up, but there was another man that could assist him. Walking out of the surveillance room, the proxy took long strides and entered the basement, the room smelled of fresh blood and sounds of whimpers filled the space. Dr. Smiley stood above a woman with her mouth duct taped and strapped to the table, he looked up and chuckled. “Masky now isn’t a good time.”

“Well when you’re available, I need to talk to you. It’s urgent.”

Puzzled and intrigued by the proxies serious tone he nodded. “Of course..”


	14. Human Contact

Christmas was drawing closer by the day, and while some CP’s were still distant others were becoming more familiar with each other. A few of them had collapsed due to more memories coming back, others became snappy at their human memories, but no one acted violently to the reminders of their past lives. Slender was pleased with how everyone was acting, now that most of the ice is broken, yet he needed a way to connect everyone as a team. That was by no means an easy task, only a few actually went on killing sprees together while some just lounged and tormented each other. Ben had grown to be a good companion for those that needed an honest reality check, LJ and Jeff had become friends in a sense as they killed together and pranked each other constantly, Jane had been a friend to Sally, and other CP’s followed similar patterns. 

Despite the better relationships between CP’s, there was not a sign of dedication to each other as Slender wanted, he wanted to see them rely on each other in the worst scenarios. However he couldn’t just attack them to see if they’d protect one another, he would need to wait until there was a real threat. In the world of humans, the world was starting to hear of the strange murders and report their cases to countries all over, the police in the city had become more alert and word of a curfew was being rumored. Thankfully, no evidence was found to prove the CP’s existed, and those that had lived from their encounters were seen as crazy or ignored. Christmas was in two days and Slender was looking forward to just relaxing at home, and hoped everyone would like their gifts.

“Slender?” 

The pale faced man turned his attention from the newspaper in his hands to the proxy at his door, Skully looked in and Slender could see visible tension. “Skully, is there a problem?”

“Sort of? The cannibals and general human eaters in the mansion are..well getting feisty.”

Slender stood up and followed the proxy out. “Can you elaborate that for me?”

“I think they’re a little frustrated because we’re running out of human sustenance, the snow really makes travel difficult to get human parts to eat.”

“Alright, I’ll go hunting for a bit, can you assure them that I’ll bring back humans to eat?”

“Yes sir.” Skully nodded, watching Slender vanish before his eyes and walked to the living room. “He’s gone, so what’s the reason I had to make Slender leave?”

“Sally wants to get a gift for Slender.” Zero replied bluntly, looking at the girl next to her.

“No offense to Slender, but he’s kind of a drag, I don’t think he knows the word fun.” Jane said to the small group of girls.

“But Slendy got us all gifts, he deserves something too!” Sally whined out and gave a puppy dog look to the girls.

“Why don’t we see what the proxies think?” Nina suggested and looked back at Skully. “You’ve seen his room, does it look like he has hobbies?”

Skully shrugged as he leaned on the back of the couch. “The only thing I’ve seen him do in his spare time is read and drink tea.”

“Ok! There, simple enough we just need to find a good book and tea.” Zero clapped her hands together. “Meeting adjourned!”

“Hold on! What kind of books does he like?” Sally asked, tugging Zero’s scarf.

The girls thought for a moment before all of them looked at Skully, the proxy feeling a shudder rack up his spine and turned to quickly leave. Nina was quick however and snatched his right arm, dragging him back to the girls as he protested and dug his heels into the floor. “I’m not part of your gift drama!”

“Come on Skully! What does he read?” Nina giggled out, only letting him go after pushing him onto the couch.

He grumbled, sitting up and fixing his mask. “I don’t know, I’ve only seen him read the newspaper.”

“In all honesty he would probably prefer non-fiction.” Jane mused in thought.

Sally then threw in her input. “Or horror!” 

“What about a form of drama?”

“He gets that enough from us..”

Skully let out an aggravated sigh and suggested. “Do a damn murder mystery or demonic cult thing. If you’re set on non fiction I know a few good ones.”

Zero couldn’t help herself as she smirked at him. “Oh do you? Never took you for the reader type.”

“Fuck you Zero.”

“That’s perfect!” Sally exclaimed and hugged Skully’s leg, making the proxy still completely. “Thank you!”

Under the mask a heavy red blush crossed Skully’s face, patting the girls head and ignoring the smirks and chuckles from the older girls. He cleared his throat, carefully prying the smaller girl off and walking off. “Whatever, have fun shopping.”

“Ah, shopping! We can go into the city for this!” Nina cheered happily, only getting shot down by Jane.

“Slender said we need to lay low, if he finds out then we’ll be in serious trouble.”

“No, his rule was not to go killing, we’re just shopping.”

Zero nodded her head in agreement. “Besides, we can throw on some things to disguise us. Let’s go talk to Trender, he’s bound to have some nice clothes.”

The four treaded upstairs to Trender’s room, unknowingly catching some of the other CP’s attention and then knocked on the slender brother’s door. When it opened, despite the lack of eyes and a general face, Trender seemed surprised and fixed his glasses. “Ladies? What can I help you with?”

“Clothing! We’re heading into the city to get a gift.” Sally bounced a bit on her toes, the tall man chuckled softly.

“Oh? Alright, come on in girls.”

The room was larger than they were expecting, one side of the room had a wardrobe, a bed, and nightstand. On the other half was a full body mirror and a couple racks of clothes, from men to women’s clothes of different ages and sizes. The girls began looking for what they could wear in this cold weather, Trender watched from the door frame for a second before saying. “I’ll wait outside so you guys can try on stuff, but let me know if you need help!”

Nick climbed down from the attic, raising a brow as he saw Trender standing out in the hall, and approached the creature. “Trender? Everything alright?”

“Oh yes! The girls are going into the city and needed some clothes for the trip. I’m considering going with them.” Trender replied happily. 

“Why? I thought Slender said not to go into the city.”

“No, he said not to cause a fuss. Besides, it’s Christmas shopping!”

“This late? Christmas is in two days.”

“Hold it,” Ben called out, walking to them and his red eyes looking between the two. “Someone’s going to the city? In disguise?”

Trender nodded. “That’s right.”

“Fuck, yes this is a chance for me to get sweet deals on games. Trender, do you have anything that might disguise my eyes?”

“I might have something, but I have to wait until the girls are done.”

Nick gave a questionable look to Ben. “You actually want to go? Why not download the games.”

“You’re not a gamer Nick, owning the physical copy of the game is a greater honor than just downloading it. Plus I am losing my mind in this mansion, I need to go out.”

“I’m going too!”

Heads turned to see The Tattler along with Nathan, the taller man stayed quiet as Oliver spoke. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been to the city, and Nathan also wants some air.”

“Whoa now guys, how are you planning on getting there? And for that matter if you’re going as a group you should partner up to keep an eye on each other.” Nick reasoned and thought to himself, mumbling. “I could use more hospital supplies..”

“Don’t get overwhelmed Nick, we’re just pretending to be humans.” Ben shrugged off before running to his room. “I’m going to get changed!”

Nathan glanced at Oliver’s appearance, which was a torn up white shirt and tan trousers, speaking quietly. “You should change too..”

“Yeah I suppose, Trender-”

“Already got it!” Trender said, cutting Oliver off and knocking at the door. “Girls are you decent?”

“Come on in!” Zero called out and opened the door for him, stepping out with black skinny jeans, a white winter jacket, white boots, and her scarf still wrapped around her neck. “Whew~ I should swipe some money to get clothes too!”

Sally followed her in black leggings with a fluffy pink coat and pink fuzzy boots, a black beanie was on her head and she giggled. “Thank you Trender!”

“Are all of you girls done?”

“No, Jane and Nina are still picking.” 

“Alright~ I’ll help them out. Boys, you stay here and I’ll grab some clothes.” Trender said and took a few articles of clothing for them, glancing over at the girls when Jane growled in frustration.

“I can’t find a nice fitting shirt!”

“Jane, that red long sleeved one looked good-” Nina tried to comfort but the pale woman snapped again.

“But it felt like it was constricting my chest!”

“Here Jane,” Trender handed her a pair of white leggings and a black halter top dress. “Try these.”

She looked confused but did as he suggested while he exited the room and handed the clothes to Oliver. “Here you are, Nick are you going to the city? I’ve got a really nice winter vest you can wear~”

Nick stared at the pale man for a minute before letting out a sigh. “Alright, I’ll go.”

Ben came back with dark blue jeans, a green beanie, and a long sleeve green shirt with the black words across it saying “Addicted” and a gamer controller under it. “Trender, you got me anything?”

“Well I was going to suggest wearing sunglasses but it’s not bright enough, so what about contacts?”

“You have colored contacts? Why do you have contacts?”

“None of your business Ben,” Trender said quickly then took out a plastic case that held the contacts. “I think blue is a great color for you.”

Hesitantly the boy took the case and walked to the nearest bathroom, but he had never put in contacts before so he was a bit unsure how to. Choosing pride over help he took one contact out and looked at the mirror with a puzzled expression. :Ok...you’ve seen this on TV, just put it in your damn eye.”

“Ugh! Finally!” Nina whined out as she stepped out wearing light grey jeans, white blouse, tan winter coat, pink scarf, and black boots. “Jane I didn’t think you’d be so picky about clothes.”

“It’s hard to shop for me, nothing fits the way I hope.” Jane sighed but stepped out with the black dress, a white winter coat, and black heeled boots. She peered at Nick and Nathan before asking. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”

“We’re going with you, we need fresh air too.” Nick summed up shortly. “Oliver and Ben are getting ready and plan to come along.”

“You realize we’re going to walk right?” Zero questioned. “That means none of you get to complain about the cold, distance, or your sore feet.”

“Why not ask Trender to drop us off?” Nathan suggested and pointed to Trender.

Trender looked to them and shook his head. “Oh no, it’s already bad enough I’m letting you kids go.”

“Trender, most of us are over 16, we’re just getting a gift then coming back.” Jane replied with a huff and crossed her arms. “Look, just teleport us there, then pick us up within three hours. That should be plenty of time for us to get it out of our system and get the gift.”

A long pale finger tapped the faceless man’s chin, he hummed in thought before nodding. “Alright, sounds fair.. Is everyone ready?”

“Just waiting on Oliver and Ben now.” Nick replied, zipping up the black vest that trender grabbed for him.

EJ walked upstairs with the intention of going to his room and stopped when he heard muffled cursing from the bathroom, it was cracked open and he knocked lightly. “Uh, hello?”

Ben turned and snarled. “Go the fuck away!”

“Ben it’s me, calm down.” EJ replied, deciding not to wait for the boy to lose his temper more and noticed one eye was blue. Not the red orb he’s used to seeing but an actual human looking eye with sapphire blue. “Um..contacts?”

“Yes, and it’s annoying the shit out of my eye!” Ben grumbled and turned away, moving a hand up to rub his left eye.

“Stop it, you’ll only make it worse.” EJ took hold of his arm and noted how Ben refused to look at him. “Hold still ok, you probably just forgot to add the solution.”

Both were quiet as EJ carefully removed the contact and cleaned out the blood that collected in it. He proceeded to clean up both eyes with a towel to soak up the blood and added the solution to the contact, tilting Ben’s head back to help put the contacts in. After a few minutes, both contacts sat correctly on his eyes and EJ brushed his hands off on his pants. “There, that’s better. I suggest you clean out your eyes again though or the blood will probably ruin the contacts.”

Ben took a look at himself in the mirror, the contacts didn’t cover his eyes completely, there was still an awkward black ring instead of pink where his tear duct was. However it didn’t look half bad and now he could go with the others. “Thanks, but how do you know how to wear these?”

A soft and embarrassed chuckle echoed behind the blue mask. “When I was human I tried to wear them instead of glasses, but they were a total pain in the ass and I would forget I was wearing them. Speaking of which, take those out as soon as you get back.”

“Got it, want to come with us?”

“No, I think I’m going to take a nap, Dr. Smiley wants to test on how long it takes for a human to bleed out without a tongue and eyeballs. I want to be rested for it.”

“That’s...you seriously just run tests like that all day?”

“Yeah, the quarantine in the house is killing us with boredom. But have fun with the others.”

A nod, quick wave, and the blond CP ran out to rejoin the others. Oliver now wearing tan pants and a grey sweater with some snow boots, Trender had each of them grab a white tendril before teleporting them to the city and stayed in the alley way. “Ok, be back here in three hours, stay together as either a group or in teams.”

“Got it.” Nina said, giving a thumbs up.

Trender vanished and Sally grabbed Jane’s hand. “Come on! Let’s go find a book place!”

“If we find a mall then we all could get our things and not have to worry about being too far from each other.” Nick suggested and pulled his beanie down a bit before walking out of the alley. “Anyone know where the mall is?”

“I do, come on.” Jane replied and started leading them down the street.

Walking through the streets felt a little odd to them, the humans barely noticed them except for the occasional curious ones. It was almost relaxing, and not to mention Oliver was having the time of his life looking around. Jane chose to debrief everyone of their objectives. “Ok, so the girls are going to be getting a gift and maybe shop for a bit, what about you guys?”

“I am going to be getting video games, maybe.” Ben replied and pointed to Nick. “This guy needs a pharmacy.”

“Watch it..” Nick hissed at him.

“Oliver and I will just browse.” Nathan quipped and looked at Oliver, who nodded.

“Alright, we’ll meet back at the alleyway at 11 pm sharp, kind of wish I woke up earlier for this..” Jane mumbled the rest to herself.

Once arriving at the mall the group was ecstatic and ready to explore to their heart's content, of course Jane offered to go to the bookstore first to get the gift first. The boys left for their own personal missions and both Nina and Zero were wandering the store, pickpocketing some people along their way. Sally had to stop one of the employee’s who enthusiastically helped her look for books along the lines of mystery and horror. Jane watched carefully and the woman smiled at her while Sally was looking at different books. “Is she related to you?”

“A-ah no, she’s my friend’s kid. She just really wanted to get her father a gift for Christmas and he happens to like books.”

“It’s just odd that she’s getting him books of murder mysteries, but I guess I can’t say anything. I like to crack open a mystery every now and then.”

“If you can suggest a book that’s going to take a long time to finish that would be great.”

“Is he a speed reader?”

“...I think?”

The brunette woman chuckled and nodded, moving back to Sally and showing her some of the books they had that were popular. Nina walked back over to Jane and giggled quietly. “We got a bunch of money now~ how’s the book hunt?”

“We’ll be done soon.” Jane replied and said. “We’ll meet you at the next store.”

“Sweet, here’s some cash.” Nina handed her some cash and skipped back to Zero. “This scarf is killing me-”

“It’s better than everyone freaking out over your face.” Zero cackled a bit and walked with her.

Nina gave her a glare but meant nothing by it as she asked. “So, what store?”

“Ehhh, there’s a forever 21? Macy’s?” 

“Forever 21 then?”

“Sure.”

Upstairs on the second level of the mall, Ben was exploring the games with a grin and collecting a couple from the shelves. Nick returned to the Gamestop with a bag and watched the pointed ear boy. “Having fun?”

“Hell yes man, so many games I’ve wanted and now I have money to get them. What did you get?”

“Some painkillers, methadone, things like that.”

“What do you need that stuff for anyways? You’re always hiding in the attic so no one knows what you do.”

“In short, kill for money, or for fun. I used to be an assassin.”

“Really? But you look like you’re only 18.” Ben said in shock as he looked at him.

“I learned really young, anyways it doesn’t take a job description to become a killer. I happen to have a knack for it and common medicines can be liquified into drugs or lethal injections.” He explained, his pale white eyes seemed to glow at the conversation.

“That’s cool, so how come you didn’t have to wear contacts?” Ben asked grumpily.

Nick only smirked and followed Ben to the cashier. “Because I already look like I’m wearing contacts.”

Ben quickly checked out his games and looked at the assassin and followed him out the store. “You think the others are doing ok?”

“Why wouldn’t they be?”

“Because we’re not exactly “normal” by society standards. That and you can’t say the girls are really quiet.”

“I think they’ll be fine.” Nick shrugged off.

“Zero! Pass me the red blouse!” 

“Got it!” Zero grinned and threw the shirt over the stall before walking back out to the store to look for more clothes.

One of the men at the store looked conflicted at the pale woman throwing clothes around, moving closer and asking. “Miss? Can I help you?”

“Nope! Just having fun with my friend!”

“A-alright but um, can I ask you not to throw the clothing around?”

Zero turned to him, the guy freezing up at the pale eyes and large grin. “What was that?”

“N-nothing!” He squeaked out. “Enjoy your time!”

She nodded and wore a proud grin as she brought some new shirts and pants to try over to the stalls. “Nina! My turn girl!”

“Got it! Hey was everything alright? I thought I heard you talking to someone.”

“You did, one of the employees was just freaking out. It’s such a shame we have to act so civil, I would have loved to scare the hell out of him.”

“Amen sister.” Nina giggled and walked out in a red blouse with white pants and looked at herself in the mirror. “Oh yes~”

Zero walked into the stall and closed it. “Well don’t browse too long, we have to keep on schedule or our asses are done.”

“Hey, what’s the deal with Oliver and Nathan? They are vastly separated in age and don’t seem to have anything in common. And don’t say killing people because that doesn’t count.”

“Maybe it’s like EJ and Ben? That whole feeling of like a brother? I mean Oliver is just a ghost that only sticks around to make others miserable, and Nathan loves manipulation. So they have similar killing styles and possibly similar reasons to kill.”

“I guess, still weird. Nathan still seems to be good friends with Jason and Candypop though.”

Zero laughed and had to balance herself before replying. “No no, it’s introverted entrapment. Extroverts find introverts and pull them into their world by force.”

Nina giggled as well and agreed. “Yeah you’re right. Well, we got a bunch of weirdos.”

Nathan walked along with Oliver, making mental notes of people that ticked him off and Oliver was enjoying the many store items that were displayed. The kid did most of the talking while Nathan would nod or grunt his replies, but the stoic man would show interest in any weapons found in the stores. He checked the time frequently and Oliver would try to distract him with different store items. If Nathan was honest with himself, he would say he was enjoying his time, but who would care if he said it? Out of his whole killing career he set up special rules and standards, making him classified as a “sane” CP. 

He hated people that were rude, obnoxious, peppy people, or people that try to stalk or watch him in return. Never harm children, never let someone see your weaknesses, and never trap yourself. When he had arrived at the mansion it was by invitation of Slender, who found him in an abandoned building, and was instantly annoyed with everyone there and was constantly forced to hang out with the high spirited CP’s. The Tattler was a kid that was alone all the time, very quiet except when he was scheming someone’s suicide, he had a tendency to laugh or mutter when he was plotting something. Another few minutes and Oliver walked up to Nathan with a necklace of the blood moon. “Nathan! Look at this! I haven’t ever been to a mall before, this place is amazing!”

With a nod Nathan patted his back and lightly pushed the kid ahead of him. “Nice, let’s go.”

“Are you going to get anything Nathan?”

“No.” 

“Oh come on, you should get something nice.”

“Knives are too expensive, I rather would steal them.”

A smile crossed the ghost’s face and put the necklace on. “If you say so, I hope we can come here again soon.”

Nathan’s eyes glanced at him and then rolled them. “I’ll bring you when it’s closed.”

“Deal!”

11pm came faster than they all expected, the night was much colder and snow was falling again at a steady pace. When the group met up on time back at the alleyway, Trender arrived back on time and quickly teleported them back and said softly. “Now guys, Slender may...have found out about you guys being out. I’ve calmed him down but he wanted to speak with one of you guys.”

Sally looked at the book in her arms and stepped towards Trender. “Where is Slendy?”

“Downstairs, sweetie it’s ok I can have-”

“No, i’ll talk to him!” Sally volunteered before hurrying downstairs and the others watched with mild surprise and casted worried glances at each other.

Slender sat in one of the cozy chairs with a book and a cup of tea on the table next to him, hearing footsteps he looked up at Sally and set the book to the side. “Sally, were you part of the group that left today?”

She grew a bit nervous and nodded a bit and walked closer. “Y..yes..”

“Sally, why did you all go out? If the human’s caught you guys-”

“B-but we had to go out!”

The pale man let out a sigh and picked the girl up, setting her on the footstool in front of him. “Sally, I know being stuck here is hard but you can’t just go out into the city when people are looking for us.”

“No, it was for you!” Sally quickly called out then pursed her lips. 

“For me?”

Green eyes looked at the book in her arms and shyly held it up to him. “We..we got this for you for Christmas..as a thank you.”

Slender took the book carefully and read the description along with the title labeled “Bury Your Dead,” and he patted the top of Sally’s head. “Sally this..thank you, but you didn’t need to.”

“But you’re family now,” Sally replied with a smile and hugged him. “And you work hard for us. What’s wrong with giving something back to you?”

“Nothing, thank you Sally.” Slender hugged back and combed his fingers through her hair. 

“The other’s aren’t in trouble right?”

“No Sally, I’ll let it slide this time.”

Trender watched from the corner of the wall, mentally smiling at the peace that overcame the atmosphere and looked to the living room where the girls were showing off their clothes and items to each other. The family was becoming closer, and it was amazing to watch evolve, something his brother was able to create and see it come to fruition. He would watch these kids, if not for them, at least for his brother.


	15. Sin is Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (all Creepypasta's belong to their respected owners.)

Christmas had arrived, and while it seemed like nothing big to many of them, Sally was running to each room to wake everyone. Some were rudely awoken by the ecstatic girl and others woke up to the delicious smell downstairs, in any case they all started collecting downstairs and drooling upon seeing the breakfast feast Slender was laying out. The CP’s started to quickly get their food before others and Slender waited until he could see everyone and then called out. “When everyone is done please go to the Christmas tree to pick up your gifts.”

Many eyes widened at his statement but everyone ate happily, a few cracking jokes at each other. Puppeteer was laughing as Helen shoved him, even Jeff seemed to enjoy himself and playfully threatened the other CP’s around him, and the animals ran around with excitement. Slowly, one at a time, the CP’s made their way to the large Christmas tree and each filed out what presents go to who. The gifts were all wrapped in shiny paper with sharpie written on them to identify the gift to the killers, and as paper fell onto the floor several gasps erupted along with several people’s bodies racking with mirth.

“A new doll!”

“Holy shit this is a deluxe edition!”

“This blade is awesome!”

Offender was surprised to get a gift passed to him from Kagekao. “Oh Slender~ you got some for us too?”

“For everyone Offender.” Slender answered. 

“Slender..how much did all this cost?” Masky asked, looking up from his present in surprise.

“That does not matter, I wanted everyone to feel comfortable here.” Slender replied before speaking out to everyone’s minds, in a booming voice he claimed. “Everyone is allowed to kill on new years day and go out from there!”

Cheers rang out and Smile howled in joy, everyone started to either retreat to their rooms, run out into the snow, or lounged with their gifts. Sally ran to Slender, happily holding her new doll and tugging at his hand. “Thank you Slendy! Did you actually mean what you said about going killing?”

“Absolutely-” Slender nodded, picking the girl up. “The humans are beginning to calm down and I think everyone is looking forward to a little killing.”

Jeff smirked at his new collection of knives of different sizes, jolting as LJ bumped into him and showed off a collection of candy bags. “Damn! I didn’t know Slender was so cool!”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to test out these new knives.” The pale killer chuckled softly and raised a brow at the candy. “You really going to eat all that? Don’t you ever get sick?”

“Nope! Never been sick once in my life because of candy.”

“I guess it makes sense since you’re not human.”

“Eh, I kind of assimilate the candy into me for later use.” LJ shrugged and proceeded to open a bag and started eating one of the sugary sweets in them.

“Well we’re free now, I’m going to the city to kill.”

At the moment Jeff finished, Skully spoke up with his hands holding a new camera as his present. “I wouldn’t advise that a lot of families are probably gathered or out of town for Christmas.”

The monochrome CP nodded in agreement. “I’m staying in for this day and enjoying the peace. I’ll go killing tomorrow.”

With a huff Jeff rolled his eyes and replied. “I’m sure I could find some lost soul that needs to be put out of their misery.”

“I’m not saying you can’t, but I think you should take the day to relax.” Skully responded, walking to the other proxies to talk.

Ben was already breaking in his new game on his Playstation and smirked as his character defeated a gang of monsters, Sally sat next to him and giggled in amusement at the blood spatters while the boy kept aggressively pushing the controllers buttons. EJ passed by, holding his new sharp tools for his hunts and stopped to look at the game. “Ben, do you ever stop gaming for more than 5 hours?”

“Fuck you Jack.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

Sally giggled further and looked back at the eyeless killer. “It’s not like he can get sick from them.”

“Not that we know of yet..” The blue masked man replied but regardless he did leave to return to his room.

Jason smirked at the large kit of string and other supplies for his dolls, looking up at Puppeteer who was floating near the ceiling and pouting. “Come on Puppet, Slender’s gift wasn’t that bad.”

“The guy got me a visa with $100, what the hell does he think a ghost like me would want?”

Helen rolled his eyes at the phantom’s words while he looked over his new art supplies. “Maybe some classes to take care of that childish disorder you have.”

Laughing as he cartwheeled into the conversation, Candypop twirled his new mallet and lightly tapped Puppeteer’s back with the side of his mallet. “Come on Puppet! Lighten up! I’m sure you can find something to get, or if nothing else you can save up for something.”

“But I don’t want anything!” He whined, kicking the mallet away and crossed his arms.

“Then pass it here, I could always use the money for paint supplies.” Helen scoffed and looked up at him.

“Fuck you Bloody Painter.”

While Puppet knew Helen’s name, he did respectfully call him Bloody Painter when they were around the others, just as Helen called him Puppet or Puppeteer instead of his real name. Jason had a respectful approach to the group, but he was closer to Candypop and Papa Grande than Puppeteer and Bloody Painter. The group were constantly together but Slender had offered Papa Grande the cabin that was a little ways from the house, the magician insisting he needed more space and peace to practice his tricks. Candypop was a little bit of a hassle, being even more energetic than LJ and more destructive in the process and Jason often had to keep him in check.

“Hey Jason!” Candypop called, flopping onto the couch next to the toymaker. “How about we go killing tomorrow? I’m certain there’s many kids that will love your toys~”

“Sure, let me get a few ready tonight and we can go out at sunset tomorrow.”

“Speak of which, Bloody Painter, you said you were running out of blood right? Want to go killing as well?” Puppeteer asked as he drifted over the artist.

With a deep sigh the painter looked up, nodding his head and fixing his mask’s position. “Fine, but you better not complain this time about how long it takes for me to drain someone’s blood.”

“Hey you stayed in that one fucking house for a whole hour! I already made two people commit suicide in that time!”

“Art takes time you uncultured jackass!”

As the night carried on the CP’s were now winding down after the exciting Christmas breakfast and unwrapping of gifts, it seemed everyone was now ramped up to kill the next day with renewed vigor. Hobo Heart was one of the few that was not bound by the rule of no killing, being that he needed to kill to get a heart to replace his old one. When the night came to an end and the next sunset was upon the CP’s, everyone hurried to leave and hunt their prey and few informed Slender they were leaving the area for a few days to spread out their kills. Slender also left for the day to hunt for children’s souls and everyone went their separate ways.

Jeff and LJ walked together to the city through the snow, the night was brisk but the snow reflected the light from the city making the sky glow with a dark gray color. The pale killer flicked one of his knives in his right hand, twirling it with a smirk. “This feels great, fresh blade, light feel in my hand, I can’t wait to carve a smile in someone’s face.”

“Mhm.” LJ replied softly, his silverish eyes glancing around with caution. 

A small wave of confusion collided in Jeff by the quiet and less involved response, slipping his knife into his hoodie he tapped the clown's shoulder to get his attention. “You ok there freak show?”

“Hm? Yeah why?”

“You’re spaced out that’s why I’m asking. What’s got you on edge?”

Long claw-like fingers brushed through the fluffy black hair, LJ restlessly looked around before finally focusing his eyes on Jeff. “I feel off, like another person is around us, but I don’t see anyone.”

“Oh, so you’re being paranoid. Relax man, you could beat almost anyone in a fight.”

The clown’s anxious look faded into a grin and he teased. “So you admit I am the better fighter?”

“Fuck no! I’ve killed far more people than you!”

“I can counter that argument, I remember every single person I’ve killed~”

“Years before I was born doesn’t count you old pedophile.”

“Oh ouch, that really hurts!” LJ replied dramatically with his hand over his heart, resulting Jeff hissing back at him.

“Next time you seem out of this world or upset, remind me never to give a shit about you.”

A laugh escaped the taller CP and they exited the forest to the city, the two breaking off to two different houses in the same neighborhood. Jeff found a house belonging to a family of four, slipping in through the back door they left unlocked and taking out his new knife from his pocket. The kids were playing upstairs, he could definitely tell from the excited squeals of the little demons, the father however was downstairs with his wife and the two were watching a movie. Patiently, Jeff waited in the kitchen, ducking down behind the counters and waiting to see if one of them would leave or get up for a drink. As if his thoughts were heard, footsteps began to echo in the room and got closer to Jeff’s location, he readied himself since the steps sounded heavier and it was most likely the husband. 

Seeing a foot, Jeff sprung out and grabbed the man in a headlock, accidentally creating more noise than he wanted as the two men struggled to gain the upper hand. The woman screamed before running upstairs with the thought to protect her children, Jeff growled in frustration and dug his blade into the man's side. With him wounded that will buy him time, he really shouldn’t have chosen a house where two people were in the same room, the man let out a yell of pain and shouted for the woman to call the cops and with that Jeff dragged the blade across his neck. Blood spurted out with the pumps matching the man’s heart beat, Jeff letting go to run out the back door and hurried to the house he saw LJ going towards. Peaking over the fence of the house he saw LJ stuffing a dead shaggy dog with candy, he quickly sniped at him.

“LJ! Get your ass moving! Cops are coming!”

“What the hell did you do?! I left you about 10 minutes ago!” LJ snapped back but ran over and flipped over the fence.

Jeff started pushing him towards the next neighborhood, scoffing out. “Cut the lecture! Run you bitch!” 

Both dashed down a few blocks, occasionally jumping fences or slipping in the alleyways between houses, when they had reached a large baby blue house with a deck to it. Both gasped and panted for air, Jeff’s lungs burning as he leaned on the side of the house bit grinned to himself. “Well, new location, new victims.”

“Just try not to sound the alarm early this time.” LJ growled at him as he patted down his fluffy shoulder pads and fixed his clothes up. “I have kids to kill.”

“Whatever pedo. Talk to you later.” 

Separating again, Jeff was more careful this time when picking a place to hunt, looking through a beige colored house’s windows and smirking as he saw a woman walking around her home. Her brunette hair swayed with the music she played loudly in her house, setting her own groove as she cooked in the kitchen, she looked to be in her mid twenties but not as if it really mattered. Slipping in through one of the living room windows, Jeff stayed low to the ground as he crept closer to the woman. The music was almost deafening but soon he got close enough to grab her, grabbing her in a headlock and whispering. 

“Go to Sleep~”

Strangely enough, she did not panic, squirm, instead she began to chuckle. “I can’t sleep.”

Before Jeff could even make a face to that statement, something black and almost cloud-like wrapped around his arm, yet it did not hurt. Soon the cloud seemed to cover his whole body and the woman pulled away with ease, he was frozen in place by this thing covering his body and only his head was untouched. “What the fuck is this!?”

“Shh~” She cooed, and when he saw her eyes were black as coal he seethed even more.

“You’re a creepypasta aren’t you?”

“Oh yes, but I’m not here for you. You can just behave for my good friend.” She gestured to the ground before his head was covered by the smoke.

Everything felt wrong, LJ was struggling to even enjoy killing this child in his room. The house was quiet with only the older sister downstairs watching tv, the boy was playing with some toys in his room and it was all a perfect set, but the constant nagging in his head wouldn’t shut up. When he finished pinning the kid up with his guts spilling out onto the floor, he phased himself outside and began looking for Jeff. As much as he tried to shake the feeling of some metaphysical being he was not able to. After walking around and checking a couple houses he grew more annoyed and called out.

“Jeff! If you can hear me I’m heading home for now.”

“Wow like the pansy you are?”

LJ looked to one of the alleyways and saw Jeff step out, blood covering his left arm and stained out from his right leg. “What the fuck happened to you?”

“I ran into some trouble..” Jeff mumbled and limped to LJ, nearly stumbling on his own feet.

Quickly he was caught by LJ, throwing Jeff’s right arm over his shoulders and helping him walk. “Looks like you’re done for now too. What did you encounter?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He hissed back, looking away from LJ.

It was obvious trying to get anything out of Jeff would be pointless so LJ just continued walking and helping him through the forest. While it was very uncomfortable to crouch over for him, LJ couldn’t exactly pick him up without hurting him further, so he just sucked up the slight ache and continued walking. The silence grew to annoy him as well though, the clown was practically chewing his lip as a headache grew in the back of his head. Something broke the silence however, Smile dog jumped out of some of the bushes and shook his fur to get the leaves off, looking at the two and barking.

“Hey Smiles~” LJ chuckled. “You’re master just got his ass kicked.”

Jeff didn’t reply but watched Smile, the husky demon dog’s ears pulled back as he growled and barked loudly at Jeff. “Hey Smile, what’s your problem?”

Smile never saw Jeff as a threat, everyone knew this, normally Smile would run up in an attempt to play or nuzzle Jeff rather than treat him as a hazard. Awareness hit LJ instantly, grabbing both of Jeff’s arms and slamming his back to the closest tree. “Who are you?”

“Laughing Jack what the hell!?” The man snarled over Smile’s growling, the dog standing close by with his eyes focused on the imposter.

“You’re not Jeff, Smile dog would never growl at his friend without reason.” LJ bared his teeth and his voice rumbled. “Who are you?”

The person with Jeff’s form smirked and grabbed LJ’s wrists, a black mist began to form around his wrists but was stopped when Smile jumped and bit the left arm of the person, cutting off their plan and they released a yell of pain. “Fuck-let go you stupid-”

LJ twisted the right arm behind their back while Smile kept digging his teeth into the arm. “You don’t want to end up as a meal for the CP’s, trust me on that..where is Jeff? Answer me!”

“Why don’t you go ask Slender?” they cackled, the voice seemed to meld with two now, one being Jeff’s voice but the other being a female.

Smile growled loudly and pulled hard hard on the arm, it detached as well as the right arm to free them from the two CP’s. Armless, no blood poured out, only a dark cloud enveloped the stubs and the body began to misshapen into a black cloud and the female voice took over. “You are smarter than I gave you credit for, I will be pleased to see you again soon Laughing Jack~”

LJ lunged at the form with a snarl but it vanished completely through the ground and he stumbled to stay on his feet, glaring at the snow prints that revealed the grass below he bristled out. “Smile, we’re going home right now..”

The two dashed home in a hurry, nearly running into several CP's that were outside and inside the manor. Smile was of course faster and more agile, sliding to a stop and biting at Toby’s sleeve when he was close to the proxy. Toby jolted and looked at Smile, kneeling down and petting the dog to try and make him let go of his sleeve. “Smile? What’s up bud? Is there a problem?”

“Toby!” LJ called out as he caught up. “Is Slender around?”

“I haven’t seen him, I think he’s still hunting. Why?”

“There’s an emergency!”

“Well you can always persistently call his name mentally, if he’s close enough he should be able to hear you.”

Satisfied with that LJ ran outside and sat on the porch, closing his eyes and mentally shouting Slender’s name excessively without pause. He was pleased when Slender appeared before him within a couple minutes, the tall man stepped closer and placed a hand on the clown’s shoulder to shake him out of his concentration. “Laughing Jack, stop, I can hear you now.”

Silver eyes met the pale face and he stood up quickly. “Jeff is missing!”

“What?”

“Some fucking shapeshifting bitch took him! Where is he?!”

Surprise took over Slender as he thought, he didn’t have any mastery shapeshifters in the mansion, but then grumbled mentally. “Zalgo..”

“Who?” LJ hissed out angrily.

“Most likely a proxy of Zalgo took him. I will find out for myself.” Slender replied and turned around to walk through the woods.

A couple strides and LJ was following close by. “Wait! I’m going too! That shapeshifter is someone I need to talk to.”

“No LJ, if Zalgo is the one that did this then I should speak to him alone.”

“I’m not changing my mind.” 

The tone to which LJ used was steadfast and determined, and Slender knew that LJ was a capable CP and would find his way to Zalgo one way or another. “Fine, but you do what I say and not act out, understood?”

While not the most agreeable compromise, LJ nodded without hesitation and followed Slender through the woods. Slender graciously teleported them most of the way, with the Zalgo territory up ahead, a spot LJ had yet to encounter. Stepping over to the dry grass, the clown took in the odd atmosphere and weather of this part of the woods. The creature was quick to run up to them on all fours, slowing down when it noticed it was Slender. “Slender, what a surprise..”

“Creature, I need to speak to Zalgo.”

“He’s a little busy..”

“We need to see him.” LJ pushed and glared at the tall thing before him.

The large dark head turned it’s glowing white eyes to LJ, tilting his head before questioning. “Who are you?”

“Laughing Jack, now let us-”

“Sorry about him, we really do need to talk to him though, it’s urgent.” Slender cut LJ’s words off, getting the Creature to look at him again.

It nodded and walked deeper into Zalgo’s territory, the two CP’s behind it followed until they reached a dark red ring of a portal and the Creature stepped aside for them. Slender was first to cross into the under realm and looked at LJ when the CP passed through the portal and stared at the dark demonic world in shock. It seemed more lively than Slender remembered, more demons were surrounding the castle and flying around the black void of a sky, but for now they had their own mission. A few minutes later they were escorted to the throne room by a CP known as the Crowman, a teen dressed as a biker with feathery black hair and crow wings sprouted from his back. The teen only muttered for them to wait before he left and the two were left at the throne room.

In silence they waited, as a couple minutes passed, Zalgo stepped out and walked to them with his many mouths grinning. “Slender, what a surprise to see you. I could’ve sworn you would be busy playing house~”

“That is quite enough Zalgo. Where is Jeff?” Slender hissed out, his face tearing to reveal his mouth.

“Oh you must be very mad~” Zalgo taunted further, and LJ was quick to notice the gem that was fused between the demon’s collar bones.

“Why did one of your CP’s take Jeff? He has done nothing wrong.” Slender pointed out, releasing a sigh in hopes to relax.

“Ah, see Enigma said he attacked her.” Zalgo began to explain. “She also said that your CP Laughing Jack wounded her as well.”

“She shapeshifted into Jeff!” LJ snapped at Zalgo, taking a step forward. “Why did she try to copy him? It sounded like she wanted to talk to me.”

“Here, let’s all get some answers.” Zalgo compromised and shouted out. “Enigma!”

From one of the halls, a woman stepped out in a black turtleneck shirt with black jeans and thick boots. Her skin was pale enough to almost resemble the color of snow, her jet black hair with red undertones flowed down to her upper back and she stared at them with red eyes. Slender knew this woman was possessed, it was very clear from the moment she stepped in the room, and the nagging feeling LJ had felt all day returned instantly.

Zalgo introduced her as she walked to them. “This is Joice, the body carrier to the enigma or void creature.”

“An honor to meet you.” She replied with a sweet voice, but grinned as if ready to kill.

LJ spoke up instantly, stepping into her personal space. “Where is Jeff?”

“Calm down, he’s currently napping in the void. However, my master is not very thrilled by the offer for him as a body.” She explained, glaring at LJ. “He requires bodies to walk, and your friend isn’t what he wants.”

“Miss Joice-” Slender said, putting a hand on LJ’s shoulder as a sign that he needed to calm down. “Please return him to us, we just want him and then we’ll leave.”

She huffed and her eyes darted to Zalgo, who only glared back in return and she released an aggravated sigh. “Fine, you can have him.”

With a snap of her fingers a cloud of black smoke rose up from the ground and Jeff’s body was uncovered from the cloud, but he seemed dazed. LJ hastily caught the pale killer when his knees seemed to buckle and nearly fell to the floor, Slender helped to lift Jeff onto LJ’s back in a piggy-back style and nodded to both Zalgo and Joice. “Thank you and hopefully we won’t have this misunderstanding again.”

“Hopefully not.” Zalgo replied and turned away, Joice and LJ shot each other one more glare before both walked in opposite directions.

Once they exited the castle and crossed the portal, LJ looked up at Slender and asked. “Is he alright? I can tell he’s breathing but why is he unconscious?”

Slender adjusted Jeff on his back, making sure his arms rested on LJ’s shoulders as LJ shifted his hands on his thighs to keep him up. “I’m not sure, but I have a theory. Whatever this “void” is, it needs humans to move so it is a kind of demon or parasite. Most likely while being suspended in the void it was draining some of Jeff’s strength. Dr. Smiley had guessed that Creepypasta’s hold remarkable gifts and those gifts are fueled by some phenomenon. It’s a little hard to explain and still make sense of it.”

“But he’s ok right? I’m not carrying a dying corpse?”

“No LJ, he’s breathing and still has his brain waves. He just needs rest.” Slender assured the CP.

The trip home was quiet and long, and while Slender did suggest teleporting them he also reasoned that Jeff did not have the mental strength to handle that strain. LJ continued to carry him without rest, only stopping if Slender needed to adjust him again. It was still dark out but the sky was starting to illuminate bit by bit from the oncoming sunrise, the snow was hard under their feet from freezing over again. Smile was laying on the porch waiting for their return, whining softly as time ticked by slowly, only lifting his head when he saw them emerging from the dense woods. He sprang up and ran over, sniffing at Jeff’s leg when he got close and looked to LJ with a whine.

“He’s ok Smile. Just really tired.” LJ spoke softly and continued to the mansion, Slender opening the door for him and Smile.

LJ walked carefully upstairs, Smile following him and continued to sniff at them as they walked to Jeff’s room. With a slight struggle, LJ opened the door and walked into the dark room, Smile closed the door behind them with a push of his paws and leapt onto the bed. Carefully the clown maneuvered to lay Jeff down before stretching and groaning. “Good thing he’s not a really large guy...fuck I need to do some stretches..”

Smile curled up beside Jeff and nuzzled into his side, receiving some pets from LJ. “It’s ok boy, he’s going to be fine, just howl if there’s a problem.”

A lick to his palm and Smile was satisfied, LJ wiping his hand on his pants and left the room with a yawn. It still confused him though, why attack Jeff and not him? Enigma’s intention was to go after him so why didn’t she? He’ll have to be more careful from now on and make sure no one else suffers this. LJ made his way to his bedroom, now ready to rest after this long day. 

Outside, Rouge was finishing her patrol and hissing at the cold snow soaking into her shoes, she was ready to head home and sleep. In the midst of heading home she stopped when she saw a tent in the woods she had not seen before, walking towards the tent with care of not making too much noise. Every time the snow crunched under her feet she cringed at the noise and then stopped when she heard snoring from the tent, creeping a bit closer she opened the tent and peered inside. The unidentifiable person was in a sleeping bag, twisting around in a nightmare it seemed and there was a baseball bat on the floor with blood on it, with this view she pulled away and zipped the tent up.

“Rouge.” The woman nearly jumped out of her skin hearing Slender and turning around to see him. “Who’s in there?”

“A human..” She replied quietly. “There’s a bloody bat in there, something tells me he’s a survivor like many of the CP’s.”

“Good work..” Slender said and stood patiently while the sun began to rise, Rouge stood next to him and the two waited.

The time slipped by quickly as the sun rose higher in the sky, the snow glittering around them along with crystals that had frose in the trees, but the sun still did not supply much warmth in this weather. Rouge checked her watch and read the time being 7 in the morning, sighing a bit and looked up at Slender. “Why are we waiting for them to wake up?”

“Because if they’re troubled I don’t want to be hit with a baseball bat, that’s why.”

Right as soon as he finished his sentence, the tent zipped open and a man looked out with shock, his olive green eyes flicking between the two. He wore a burnt orange and beige sweater with a dark brown vest, and his dark jeans were tattered and dirty. His black hair was shaggy and ungroomed, his skin pale and his mouth gaped in shock. Slender easily read his mind and spoke to him. “Wilson, my name is Slenderman, you will be my new proxy.”

The man was helped up by Rogue and he shook a bit from the shock of everything, Slender put a hand to his shoulder. “This is one of my proxies, Rouge, she will help you get used to the proxy work.”

“So your name is Wilson?” Rouge asked and picked up his bat from the tent.

“Y-yes-”

“Great! You’ll be Wilson the Basher then.” She replied and handed him the bat before walking with him. “Come on we’ll set you up with a mask.”


	16. The corpse

The snow had started to melt, since the “Enigma incident” it has been three months, and spring was on it’s way with the days counting down to March. For the most part the Mansion was cleared out at night with CP’s traveling around the world for prey to hunt, those that did stay typically kept to themselves. Infrequent fights broke out and there were a few times several CP’s would go out as pairs or groups to hunt, but it was relatively peaceful otherwise. Finding more CP’s was not easy but a couple were found within the last couple months, yet the months did not soothe Slender’s constant questions about Zalgo’s behavior. Since their last meeting, Slender had realized that the demon seemed crazed on power, he had collected many demons and CP’s under his reign, what did he promise them?

“Slender?”

The tall man sat up more in his leather chair, turning his head to Dr. Smiley. “Yes?”

“Are you alright? You look like your head is going to explode.”

“That is an interesting assumption since I have no face.”

“Well you have a habit of rubbing the side of your head or tapping your fingers on your jaw.” 

“I keep forgetting how observant you are..”

“So~” Dr. Smiley sat in the chair across from Slender. “What’s on your mind?”

“Zalgo, something is suspicious about him and I want to find out.”

“Well, you could send a spy.” The doctor suggested with a shrug.

Slender tilted his head in thought before shaking his head. “No, too dangerous..besides he knows all my proxies.”

“He doesn’t know all of your CP’s though, find someone less conspicuous.”

“Who do you suggest?”

“You’d hit me if I told you…”

The faceless man only “stared” at the doctor before hissing. “I’m not sending Ben-”

Dr. Smiley quickly interrupted. “He is one of the few closest to being human and demon, powerful, and his child-like appearance will most likely lose the attention of the Zalgo CPs.”

“I don’t want to send him on a mission like that, while he is cunning and powerful, he’s not the best fighter. Not to mention that he does lack a form of..fixation for orders.”

“But...he hasn’t exactly not proven himself to be helpful.”

This was true, Ben was not defined as docile, but he was not deciever either. He was honest to a fault, stubborn, and overall a good pick for someone to go undercover with a mentally prepared aloof attitude. “I will have to think about it some more, I still do not like the idea of having someone sneak around Zalgo’s castle. He is not a demon to mess with.”

“I didn’t say you had to go with that option.” Dr. Smiley replied. “However, I highly doubt he’ll tell you the truth if you went to him and asked what was going on.”

“That I already knew. What are you doing here? I would have been certain that you would be working in the basement or resting.”

“Oh I’m letting the room air out a bit, the blood smell started to give me headaches. You wouldn’t happen to have any scented candles would you?”

“I do not..”

Standing up, stretching and speaking with a groan. “Alright~ I’m going shopping then. Do you want anything?”

“Not right now, I have Masky and Hoodie out getting groceries.”

“This late? It’s 11 in the night.”

“Thankfully there are some stores still open to further push humans to become insomniacs and druggies.” Slender answered, standing up as well and left the living room to speak with Ben. 

Not seeing the smaller CP in the family room, he teleported up to his room and knocked at the door, but not hearing anything he teleported inside and tilted his head seeing Ben was gone. Figuring the virus was out hunting Slender returned to his room and sat down in his chair, picking up one of the newspapers that was brought to him. Meanwhile in the forest, EJ was walking home with a bag that held several jars of organs, the killer was feeling really good about his haul for the next few days. The newly growing grass crunched under his feet from the frost that covered it, he pushed his mask up for a minute to breathe in the cool air and smiled a bit at the starry night sky. Moments where it was peaceful were always the best moments.

Currently walking through from the east side of the forest, EJ froze when he heard a scream and looked around for the source. The yell was fast but he ran towards the noise that echoed in the dark woods, it wasn’t hard to find the source. There was a male body on the grass covered in blood and eyes rolled back, and a feminine looking person over him while an abnormally long tongue hung down from the person's mouth. EJ slowly stepped closer and assessed the length of the tongue, also noting the sharp teeth from the owner. “Excuse me?”

The head of the brunette snapped up, the neck length hair bounced a bit and the figure stood up, a growl left the person and EJ was able to take a full view of the stranger. Dark bloody jeans hugged the thicker thighs and thin legs, a black off-the-shoulder long sleeve shirt that showed the deathly pale skin, there were no shoes covering the dainty yet scratched up feet. The stranger looked like a girl, but the lack of a cleavage and face was structured as more of a young man. No irises or pupils were in the pearl white colored eyes, several scratches also lined their shoulders and probably more lined the rest of the figure, but EJ shuddered as they walked closer and the sound of crackling was heard from the bones in this zombie-like person.

“W-who are you?” They questioned, the tongue hanging loosely and the voice was muffled by the tongue’s length, which looked to be about 5 feet long.

“Eyeless Jack-” He responded and stepped back as the tongue lifted like a snake. “A creepypasta in the forest like you.”

“C-creepy..pasta?” 

The syllables and pronunciation were horrible and hard to interpret but not impossible. “Yes, a creepypasta is a killer or spirit filled with rage that lives on from death to live to reach their goal. What is your name?”

“Lucas..W-walker.” Lucas purrs, fixing his shirt and brushing his pants off on his thighs, his lips tugged up in a smile as the tongue continues to slither. “What are you hiding behind the mask?”

“My face..So, do you want to come meet Slenderman?” EJ replied and stepped back a bit as the cracking body stepped closer in an attempt to stay away from the tongue.

“Perhaps~ would you be my chaperone?”

“I would have to guide you there, we live in a mansion with many other killers.”

Suddenly Lucas stopped, hissing a bit and turning around. “No thanks, I don’t p-play nice with o-others..”

“If you change your mind just start walking west, the mansion is tricky to find but CP’s are normally wandering around.. Good night.” EJ excused, not taking his eyes off Lucas while starting to walk home again.

Lucas huffed and used his long tongue to pick up the dead man, walking off into the fog with jagged movements but still attempted to show off his hips. EJ wasn’t sure what to make of the guy but knew a way to find out about Lucas. Arriving back at the mansion, EJ sped straight to the lab and down the stairs, ignoring the victims screams as Dr. Smiley pulled out a saw. “Oh! Hello EJ, what’s the hurry?”

“Have you noticed a Zombie-like CP before? That doesn’t live here?” EJ questioned while opening the filing cabinet and scanning through the names on the many files.

“Not that I recall,” Dr. Smiley responded, beginning to saw the man’s arm off as he screamed and struggled against his restraints. “Why? Did you meet someone that worries you?”

“A CP with a really fucking long tongue and an appitite for human flesh.” 

“Huh, no unfortunately I don’t remember seeing or documenting such a CP.”

Blocking out the screams in the background, EJ took out an empty file and paper and began to write down what he saw from Lucas, noting from the abnormal tongue to the feminine act he displayed. Lucas did not seem to know about their home or organization, which can either be really good or really bad, he could hunt the CP’s without realizing it or could be seeked out by Zalgo. Although the red demon prefers CP’s that are demonic, it’s not as if Lucas has a heart for humans. The screams behind him finally stopped, blood pooled on the ground from the severed arm and Dr. Smiley was quickly working on the next arm. EJ set the file away in the cabinet and hurried upstairs to talk to the proxies, but he stopped when a smaller figure bumped into him.

“Damn EJ! You made of fucking stone?” Ben rubbed his nose, which made contact with EJ’s body first, looking up at the cannibal.

“Sorry Ben, I’m in a hurry-you didn’t sleep last night did you?” EJ asked, noticing the purple tint under the boy's eyes.

“Huh? Oh, no I didn't. I was trying to beat a level. I have a massive headache so I wanted to get something for it-”

“No you’re not Ben!” Dr. Smiley shouted up to him, both of the CP’s looking down to the doctor as he waved the bloody saw with his words. “You’ve been getting medicine every other day for the past month, you’re not getting another until you drink more water.”

EJ turned his head back to Ben, ushering him out of the room. “Water? Is that all you’re missing? Just go drink some, he’s not the person you want to irritate.”

“Hell no, I hate water and you know why!” Ben grumbled, his shoes squeaking against the wood as he was pushed.

“Well how have you been keeping hydrated?”

“Gatorade, and Slender buys me strawberries.”

“Ben, despite fruit having a good percentage of water you need more than 50 strawberries to keep hydrated that way. And Gatorade is more for repairing electrolytes. A few glasses of water isn’t going to hurt you.”

Ben suddenly went quiet, but something in his eyes raged and his hands clenched his shirt, EJ sighed and took his right hand. The blonde jolted and his glare melted to more shock and confusion, the taller man led him to the kitchen and retrieved a glass from one of the cabinets. When he was getting water from the fridge he felt his body jolt back as Ben tried to run away, only to be snagged back by EJ’s larger hand. “Jack I don’t want it!”

“If you keep going on like this you’ll die for real. Just drink at least three cups a day-”

“Fuck off!”

Quickly placing the water on the counter, EJ used his free hand to yank Ben closer and firmly grabbed his sides, lifting him onto the counter top and shoved the glass in his hands. The feeling of the cold glass made Ben freeze up, his red eyes staring at the liquid with horror and fear, his ears tilted a bit and his lips pursed as if he should say a word the water would attack him. Holding back an aggravated exhale, EJ looked up at Ben and tried to relax his voice to come out softer. “It can’t hurt you, I won’t let it. I know you hate water but you need to drink it, your body is not immortal and if you keep pushing the water away you’ll never get over your fear. We’re not swimming here.”

“Don’t even joke about swimming..” Ben mumbled, his eyes flicking from the blue mask and the water, slowly he brought the glass closer and shakingly brought it to his lips.

EJ grabbed the bottom of the glass to help angle it for him, Ben shuddering as the cold liquid slid down his throat and for a second looked ready to vomit. “ you got this, breathe through your nose and take careful sips.”

Both worked for the next few minutes, EJ staying until the water was completely gone from the glass, Ben still seemed stiff but EJ handed him two pills. “Here, this should help your headache, but keep drinking water ok?”

A nod was received and Ben hopped off the counter and walked back upstairs with the pills in hand, EJ finally let out a stressful sigh and set the glass in the sink. When he turned around his heart nearly jumped out of his ribcage seeing Slender there. “Holy fuck! Slender, you really need a bell on you..”

“I have been told that before.” He nodded then asked. “You were helping Ben with his fear?”

“Yeah, poor kid was really adamant from just holding the glass.”

The tall man’s head tilted slightly. “May I ask, why did you set him on top of the counter?”

EJ now felt embarrassed, his cheeks heating up under the mask and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “It’s a psychology trick I learned, most people do not like to be looked down on, but if you make them seem taller they tend to listen more.”

“That is a good approach, thank you for assisting him. Dr. Smiley told me you saw a new CP in the woods, someone that was a zombie?”

“Yes, he called himself Lucas, I don’t think he plans on hurting any of us but he also is a cannibal.”

“Alright then, I’ll go see if I can find him.” Slender responded before teleporting out of the mansion.

A grunt of pain caught EJ’s attention as he saw Jeff walking down and rubbing the ride of his head. “Fucking bitch...what a migrane..”

“Hello Jeff, how are you feeling?”

Smile dog followed after Jeff, the pale killer letting out a growl. “My head feels like it’s cracking open..”

“Here, I always carry around painkillers.” EJ said, handing him three tablets. “I also suggest drinking water and not killing today.”

Jeff rolled his eyes but took the pills and walked to the kitchen for some water. “Thanks doc, what do you know of this enigma bitch?”

“Not much unfortunately, and you’re not going after her.” EJ replied, crossing his arms as the killer gulped down some water and the pills.

“The fuck i’m not! I want to carve that bitch open!”

“According to Slender she’s not even a real person, a victim of whatever the “void” is. So I’m afraid you’re out of luck Jeff. Besides, it was three months ago..”

A scoff left his lips. “I can hold one hell of a grudge.”

“That might be true but don’t let her get to you, I don’t believe her intentions are directed towards you anyhow. Slender believes she is after Laughing Jack.”

A brow quirked up by his statement, Jeff’s eyes staring at EJ in question. “Why would she go after him?”

“Not sure, we’re still trying to theorize it.” 

“Heh, how about I just go maim the bitch and get the answers from her?”

“Jeff you do that and this time we won’t save your ass.” EJ bluntly stated with a glare and received a growl.

“Hey Jeff! we’re going to a festival, want to come with us?” Candypop shouted as he and LJ walked downstairs. 

“It’s a horror fest~” LJ snickered and looked at EJ. “you can come if you want to Eyeless Jack.”

“Hm, sounds promising.” EJ nodded and asked. “How are we getting there?”

“LJ’s powers obviously!” Candypop cackled and looked at Jeff. “So are you up for it killer?”

His grin grew wider and nodded his head, walking closer to the three. “Absolutely, I need to make some people beautiful~” 

The dark sky was beginning to lighten to a greyish color through the foggy woods, the air becoming less bitter and dew drops sparkled on the growing grass. On the outer edge of the forest near the city, Wilson and Rouge watched with caution as the city police were gathering with cars and civilians, the entire scene was parked beside the chain linked fence and the CP’s stayed in the trees. Rouge looked over at Wilson and pointed down to the ground, the two hopping down and getting closer to talk. Wilson was the first to speak and mumbled. “This is bad, Slender would have said something if we were gaining too much attention right?”

“Yes, but it’s possible that the humans are reopening the investigation or found a new clue.” Rouge pitched in. “We need to tell the others, pronto.”

With a nod the two ran through the woods to the mansion, both of their eyes darted around to locate any CP’s as they went and waved or called to them to follow, the sounds and flashes of the police cars lost in the fog that had covered the woods. Rushing through the large door of the mansion, Wilson was the last one in and closed it behind the group of CP’s that had followed, all of them questioning Rouge and Wilson about what was wrong and why they called them home. The commotion rang out loudly and soon other members of the mansion began to join in or observe from their current spots, only the voices ceased when Slender had walked to them and his mere appearance to the chatter was enough to silence everyone.

“Wilson, Rouge, what happened?” 

“Big trouble, there are police outside the fence line.. We don’t know why they are there but we wanted to warn everyone.” Wilson explained first before passing the torch to Rouge.

“Not only that, but I believe they are going to try and explore our forest.”

Many shouts rose up in the gaggle of CP’s, one being Papa Grande’s voice and his voice carried louder than the rest. “Hold it! How many did you see?”

“At least 6 cars, and there were civilians as well. It’s possible they are trying to gather information before entering the woods, from either victims or people related to the victims.” Wilson answers, his heart beginning to race now with the worry of what was to come.

Slender tore his mouth open and spoke in a booming voice to make sure he was heard by everyone. “I need you all to stay here, if you know any of the CP’s that are currently out please find a way to notify them. Masky, Hoodie, Kate, you three will come with me. We’re going to let these humans know they are not welcomed.”

CP’s scrambled to either grab weapons for a possible front attack, Splendor and Trender immediately teleporting to find the CP’s that were not in the mansion, and the three proxies that were called upon followed Slender out of the mansion. The fog was not that thick in the morning or noon and Slender knew that they would have the sun as a foe in this fight as well. Mentally speaking to his proxies, he warned them to stay alert and to only scare the human’s if possible, they could not afford any witnesses or more publicity. The four separated, the tallest of them relaxing his mind and listened around him in waiting while the other three spread out and searched for any intruders.

Kate sprinted through the forest with great agility, being the fastest of the small team and reached a pine tree that was close to the fence, she watched as the first couple armed cops unlocked the gate and walked into their domain. The pale woman repressed a growl and quietly watched them before noticing Hoodie in her line of sight a few meters away, she nodded to him before running through the woods to regroup with Slender. “Sir, they’re starting to walk in..”

“Carry out the plan, I will be on standby if you need me. Good luck.”

Hoodie observed from the side, cocking the hammer back on his revolver and counting the cops as they went deeper into the woods. Silently counting to himself he found 7 people had gone in, a small team but it would turn into a disaster if they let anyone see them. Humans often over react to the smallest things, and seeing one of them could easily inspire a cult, demons, or even just druggies in the woods. However the order to only scare the humans would be complicated, a shot from the gun would call for them, and stepping out into the open or even speaking was out of the question. Just as the proxies continued to follow and monitor the humans, one spoke with a stutter as he noticed the fog getting thicker.

“I-I can’t see the damn fence..there’s some creepy shit g-going on here..”

The supposed leader of the expedition replied softly, his blue eyes gazing over the fogged up woods. “Calm down Hawkins, fog is just created when the sun heats up the cold ground.” 

“B-but this forest still feels icy..”

Another cop spoke, one of a rough sounding voice. “captain, we should turn back, just because there have been mass murders that does not mean they reside in a forest-”

“It’s the only place that makes sense.” The captain interrupted. “Missing children, cameras near the area going to static, and there have been reports of construction that was abandoned years ago.”

“Yeah, and if I remember right most of the workers were reported as insane..”

Masky listened from the sidelines and bit his lip in anger at how easily the captain deduced their whereabouts. There was no way they could let them leave with such information, with that in mind he caught Kate’s gaze and made a circular motion with his finger. Kate nodded and sprinted behind the group of cops, making them look back to only see the indents in the grass that no longer held any dew drops. 

“What the fuck?”

“Stay steady Marlin, it was probably just a rabbit.”

“Man fuck this..”

Hoodie was next and watched as Kate ran past them again to startle them, Masky signalling his friend to fire the gun up into the sky, and despite his hesitancy with the idea of being caught Hoodie does follow instruction and shoot a round into the sky. Startling several birds away and the cops were quick to draw their guns and stood in a circle with their backs facing each other. The captain’s eyes were quickly zipping over the woods and now panic set into the team, in this time Hoodie had moved away from his spot and let out another shot into the sky. The cops began to slowly shift back to the exit, Masky watched with a smirk as the captain ordered them to leave.

Kate ducked behind a fallen tree and watched them begin to file out, but the captain slowed down instead of disappearing into the fog like the others. The man scanned the forest before aiming his firearm to one of the trees and firing a shot, what caught them all off guard was a yell of pain from Masky. With the sound alerting the man he shouted to the stranger. “Come out with your hands up!”

“Fuck you bitch!” Masky yelled back. “You shot me you bastard! Why do police have shitty training?!”

“I’m not asking you again!” The man shouted and aimed his gun again, stepping closer.

Hoodie was ready with the shot and Kate was ready to tackle the man, the two proxies halting in hesitation to not get in each other's way, but Masky stepped out and held his right shoulder that bled past his fingers. “You’re a real asshole you know that?”

“Identify yourself!”

“Go eat shit!”

Two shots were fired from the cop but both entered the body of the pale faced creature that teleported before him. Slender let out a grunt of pain before snarling and spearing a tendril through the man, the proxies around him watched in shock and confusion. Lifting the body up, Slender started limping to the mansion, the bullets had entered his abdominal area and blackish-tar like blood seeped out of his wounds. Hoodie ran over quickly, keeping an eye out for any reinforcements while Masky was assisted by Kate to the mansion. “Sir, are you alright?”

“As alright as I can be..Hoodie, get Toby..” Slender released heavy pants through his open mouth. “I need you two on guard, and let me know what changes.”

“Yes sir..” Hoodie nodded and ran off to the mansion to get Toby.

It was an aggravating walk for Slender and Masky, both having lead in their bodies twisting around and tearing up their regenerating insides. When they did arrive back, any CP that noticed the wounds only stared in shock and the two walked to Dr. Smiley’s lab. EJ and the crazed doctor quickly helped them sit down on different beds, EJ grabbing tweezers and walking to Masky’s side as the proxy quickly removed his layers. Slender hissed as the suit was removed and Dr. Smiley plucked out the lead carefully while clicking his tongue.

“Hollow points..not very fun..What happened?”

“I stepped into the path of two bullets..” Slender grumbled. “The others were quiet seeing me, I must seem weak..”

“I think it’s just the opposite Slender..I know you don’t like doing this but maybe you should take some time to read their minds.” Dr. Smiley spoke quietly to not be heard by EJ or Masky.

“I couldn’t, not for something this petty.”

“You may surprise yourself.”

After the lead was removed and wounds were closed up, Masky stayed in the room to sleep and Slender returned upstairs where he was greeted by his brothers. Splendor being the first to hug him and scold his brother. “Slendy don’t you scare us like that!”

“W-what are you-”

“We heard you were hurt.” Offender spoke and scoffed. “For fuck’s sakes, and you always tell us to be careful.”

“Brothers, please tell me everyone is home.” Slender pleaded softly, getting Trender’s hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Splendor and I collected them while Offender took count of everyone.”

“Thank you..I should prepare-”

“Nope!” Splendor interrupted his brother and started to guide him to his room. “You’re going to your room, let us take care of the CP’s.”

Slender was quickly taken to his room and assured the whole way that the CP’s would be looked after, but before his ecstatic brother could close his door he spoke with haste. “Splendor, make sure that if the others want to kill they have to take it outside of the city for a while, also that if there is any trouble they should get the proxies immediately.”

“Alright alright, calm yourself brother.” Splendor replied gently. “Now you just rest, immortal or not that wound will take at least a day to heal.”

Without another word, the door was closed and Slender was left alone in his room. Stress slowly seeped out of his body, whenever he was in his room it felt as if nothing could touch or harm him here. He laid on his bed and sunk into the comfortable sheets, while it was hard sleeping in a bed that he had to curl up on, it was still plushy and made him nearly fall asleep instantly. In the silence he counted the record of souls collected for the Council, noting that he had enough to satisfy them, but then Dr. Smiley’s words slipped through his thoughts. What were the others thinking at this moment? Did they see him as weak? Was the respect he built now shattered with thoughts that he couldn’t protect them? While he was hesitant on listening to the voices in the mansion, temptation made him give in and open his mind to hear many voices.

“Slender was shot?! Is he alright?”

“Masky are you ok?”

“I’m fine..just pissed that I was shot and so was our fucking boss.”

“I-is Slender going t-to be ok?”

“It’s ok Sally, Dr. Smiley fixed him up..”

“I swear if Slender dies this whole mansion is going to hell along with any chance of survival.”

“Don’t be so dramatic Helen, Slender has pulled through tough situations before.”

“Alley he’s going to make it-”

“That’s not the point, Slender saved my life and I will kill anyone threatening to kill him.”

The many men and women voices he heard just kept flooding his mind, several concerns were directed to their living situation, but a pleasant warmth overwhelmed him and it was a feeling he had not felt for a mass number of years. Finally closing the thoughts of the others from his mind he felt at ease and let his body sink into peace.

“Slender.”

So much for peace, Slender thought as he sat up to see Samuel from the Council standing before him. “Slender, we may have a problem..”

“What is it?”

“Come with me to the Council and I will explain.” 

Nodding and standing up immediately, the two were teleported to the Council and several whispers silenced all at once as they turned to Samuel and Slender. The tall faceless man was impatient by the quiet hall and asked out. “So what is the emergency?”

“Something very dangerous-” A new voice, one Slender had never heard before, it was loud and clear but at the same time disembodied. “It revolves around your friend Zalgo..”

“And what has he done?”

“Not what has he done, but what he is going to do..and you’ll need help this time.”


	17. World without Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ!
> 
> I hate to do this guys but I'm going to need some time off from writing, college is kicking my ass along with work and I'm not finding my normal level or motivation to write. I promise this story will continue and I hope to repost sometime in the first two weeks of March. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and understand my much needed break.

“I swear to fucking god I want to kill ever reporter in the world.” Jeff grumbled as he watched the tv.

A handful of CP’s watched the news for the next couple of days, seeing what impact was left on the humans from their attempted attack. The stations from the city were bringing up theories of terrorists, gangs, and cults, and while that was not completely inaccurate the CP’s were still enraged by the news. Apparently, the cities stations also reached out to other cities and countries that may have had similar attacks and unfortunately they responded with their own news. 

Many nations were reporting their own incidents and LJ seethed a bit. “This is such bull shit. Their cop hit our guy first!”

“They don’t give a shit, police instantly trumps any attempt of getting them in trouble.” Helen said to LJ. “Not to mention they probably believed it to be self defense.”

“Seriously, why are humans so fucked up?” Puppeteer questioned as he floated.

Jane was the one to reply with a scoff. “Because they know they’re imperfect so they try to be higher up than others. That and they only believe what they want to believe.”

“That’s why there are so many religious fanatics, and drug lords, and bitchy people that are normally killed in slasher movies.” Ben added on, sitting on the floor as he watched the news and held the remote.

Jesse was next to speak, gnawing at her lip. “This is real bad..they’re probably already calling the FBI or something to come and clear us out..”

“Well we’re not going to give up without a fight.” Hobo Heart snarled a bit, his wings puffing up against his back.

“Hey guys take a look at this.” Ben quickly caught everyone’s attention and turned the TV volume up so everyone could hear.

“...Reports of these killings have had an oddly positive response from the younger generation, that claim these “creatures” in the woods are known as Creepypasta’s, and the generation claims we have crossed them by stepping into their woods. By what we’ve been able to understand, the Creepypastas are many fictional stories about killers, monsters, and tragic horror stories. Although this idea is absurd, police officials urge caution for citizens to stay away from the forest until it has been deemed safe to go in..”

The CP’s present in the room were slack jawed and Ally said softly. “I’ll be damned..younger generation..I know that some CP’s like Slender were known by adults, but the kids like us?”

“Holy shit, who would’ve guessed?” LJ chuckled softly and looked at Jeff with his arms crossed. “Sounds like we have fans too.”

“Yeah, fuck-” Jeff suddenly said and looked to everyone. “We can use this, if we somehow get more fans perhaps that will keep police and other armed forces away from us.”

“How would that work? We can’t just go up to the kids like a bunch of mascots at a carnival.” Candypop questioned. 

Jason pet the head of the multi-colored stuffed animal snake that was curled around his shoulders. “That’s true, but maybe as we go out to kill we can present ourselves more. Leaving signs, and even if the public just thinks it’s crazed fans or copycats they might believe in us a bit more.”

“We could suggest it to Slender.” Masky shrugged and looked at his healing arm. “Not like it can go any worse off than the police investigation.”

“Other than others being hurt in the process.” EJ pointed out with a grumble.

Lost silver snatched the remote from Ben with his powers and turned down the volume before flipping channels to a local broadcast. Sonic EXE watched and then grinned with his bloody teeth. “Seems like our city already is planning another investigation.”

Hoodie sighed and shook his head. “God nothing pleases humans..”

“Why do you think so many resort to crime and affairs?” LJ snickered a bit before adding. “But if we attack they’ll only keep coming back, if we wait and let them explore there is a chance they’ll never see the mansion.”

“Or they will and storm the place..” Jane mumbled and fidgeted with her hair. “There’s no way we can allow that to happen.”

“Ok everyone relax,” Hoodie called out over the growing concerns. “Masky and I will speak with Slender and try to come up with something.”

In the midst of talking, Ben decided to leave the crowded area and head outside for some fresh air, the stress of everyone was really starting to give him a headache. It truly made him feel like he was the only adult of these idiots, but then again he couldn’t help but worry a bit. If things did come to pass for being dangerous it could mean he will have to escape through the internet and leave everyone behind. This entire “sanctuary” that Slender had built would not last, Ben knew this and figured getting to know anyone would be too risky, yet the world still likes to fuck with him even in death. The cool air was refreshing, the chilly night was not a problem to him from years in a cold digital world and he started to wander the forest. As he tried to clear his head he couldn’t shake the dark feeling that diffused in his chest, he started to tremble in anger and frustration, a growl slipped past his bared teeth.

“Looks like you’re having a bit of a meltdown.”

The blonde haired boy flinched and looked up to see a red grin from the darkness of the forest, the fog had eerily vanished from around the tall demon before him. Slowly he walked to Ben, the smaller one keeping his distance as the demon walked past him and chuckled. “Lovely night for a meltdown though, that perfect temperature for cold to mix with stress. Would you care for some company?”

“Do whatever you want.” Ben grumbled and continued walking, ignoring the humongous red grinned devil. He knew this must be Zalgo, the description Slender gave of him was a spitting image.

“Well great then I’ll join you.” Zalgo replied blightely before expanding his strides to walk alongside Ben. “Not to be a nosy bitch, but what are you doing out so late and alone? Looking for some prey?”

“No nothing like that-” Ben stopped himself and glared at the demon. “How about you mind your own business? I’m not a demon like you and I have my own fucking problems to take care of with this mess of psychotic paranoia that’s plagued my home!”

“Easy there kid,” Zalgo’s snide voice responded, tugging Ben’s collar a bit to cut his breath short. “Shit happens and you can’t do anything about the past, something I’ve learned for a fact and the best thing to do is get stronger right? Creatures like us have to stick together through this world, and if the mortal realm is killing you then let's make a deal. I can grant you all the power you wish to have for a small fee in return, all the riches you could want and the freedom you can control.”

“But where would I go?” Ben scoffed and crossed his arms while adding. “You also forgot the payment that you want me to give for such a prize.”

Zalgo’s devilish grin grew as he spoke in a friendly tone. “Simple kid, you’ll stay in my castle with all the other CPs and demons I work with. The price for the power is just your soul, but you’d be doing nothing but killing for me and that’s it. I’ll never ask anything of you and make you more powerful beyond belief.”

“Sounds too good, and for my soul it’s not really worth the trouble.”

“Come on, what’s wrong with trying something new and joining a larger cause?”

Ben had to laugh at that. “I have what I need and I’m not turning my back on my family, I don’t need your offer!”

As Ben started to storm away, Zalgo caught his arm and spoke softly this time. “Do you really want to stay like that though? You could live a life of your choosing and not be forced to play by any rules-”

“No rules besides yours, thanks but I’m good. I actually enjoy the life I have right now.”

“But how long will that last until the humans attack your home, and your friends?” He hissed out and let go of Ben, chuckling a bit. “You play it so cool, like nothing can ever touch you, like you are a god. Yet you cling to the others as if they are a lifeline for you, pretty ironic for a spirit.”

“If I got mixed up with a demon like you I’ll lose everything for nothing. Demons never benefit others.” Ben shot back with a glare, cocking a brow when Zalgo dramatically put a hand over his chest.

“There’s no need to insult all demons. Just because a few have made mistakes does not mean you should generalize demons being bad. So perhaps it’s risky, but you’ll never see what will change until you try it~”

The thought crossed through his head but Ben shook his head and fired back. “Not happening, I know what you’re trying to do so fuck off!”

He spun around again but Zalgo blocked his path again and made him take a few steps back. “You’re making a terrible choice, it’s sad to see others waste potential.”

“Potential? No, you want fucking slaves!” Ben snarled but continued to back up as Zalgo walked towards him, both of the CP’s eyes lit up in a brighter red in a challenging look.

“Get the fuck away from him!” Jeff’s voice broke the tension, making Zalgo step back from Ben and they both looked at the pale killer.

“Hello Jeff, I wanted to talk to you as well-” Zalgo started to speak, giving Ben the chance to hurry over to Jeff.

“Oh spare me the lies, I’m not looking for slavery or anything to boost whatever I have.” Jeff snarled and hissed at him. “So do me a fucking favor and stay away from us or I’ll tear off one of your horns and shove it up your ass before I impale you with it!”

The shout actually left the demon and younger CP stunned, Jeff yanking Ben’s arm to bring him along towards the mansion. Ben kept watch of Zalgo as they left the clearing, turning his attention back to Jeff once Zalgo was out of view. “Damn, you really were pissed.”

“You can’t be serious, were you seriously going to join him!?”

“Geez no need to bite my head off, I wasn’t going to join his stupid group.” Ben replied and jerked his arm out of Jeff’s grasp. “What the fuck are you so mad for?”

“Other than the fact that you wandered off and were nearly tempted by the devil, nothing!” Jeff snarled back.

“Don’t you realize you pissed off a really powerful creature? Probably was not the smartest move on your part.” Ben mocked as he walked ahead of Jeff.

A growl slipped passed Jeff but kept quiet otherwise, the two walking together until a large form tackled Jeff to the ground, Ben jolted from the thud and looked over to see a man holding Jeff down and raised a blood-stained cleaver over the squirming form. Ben reacted swiftly and slammed his knee into the man’s chin, he knocked the man clear off and Jeff got to his feet while taking his knife out. The man before him didn’t look different from a human, wearing jeans, boots, and a black hoodie that covered his face with the hood portion. As quick as the pale killer was to take a swipe at the stranger, the man did a backwards somersault and got to his feet with cleaver in hand, he lunged at Jeff and nearly knocked the man back as Jeff thrust the blade in the path of the cleaver and slammed his elbow into the strangers chest.

Ben was not the strongest CP, but he was not going to let this slide and picked up a large branch before smashing it over the man’s head. However contrary to what both the boys thought, the man’s strength was unwavered and instead he shoved Jeff onto the ground then turned to Ben to inflict pain. Despite the stranger being larger, the blonde haired CP was faster and ducked to the killers right when he swung the cleaver at him, taking the chance to yank the man’s hood off to see who he was fighting. On top of the man’s head was a truly ugly red squid hat that covered the man’s eyes and only his lips and nose were visible, he was certainly older than him but could not be that much older than Eyeless Jack. 

Ben could not help but let out a mocking laugh. “What the fuck? I’m fighting some squid obsessed man?”

The guy said nothing and swung the cleaver at him again, Ben was able to dodge and Jeff quickly stabbed his knife into the man’s side, but only a grunt was heard from the guy before spinning the cleaver in his hand for an attack. Ben clung onto the arm that wielded the cleaver and yet he did not react with any pain whatsoever, the best solution was that this man is a demon, worst case scenario this man is a demon. Jeff snarled at the guy as he yanked out the knife and moved it over his head to stab down onto the squid hat, but the man’s free arm caught his wrist and twisted around to throw Ben to the ground and Jeff’s back made contact to the nearest tree. With a growl Ben rolled back onto his feet and slammed his elbow into the gut of the man, finally making him keel over enough for Ben to clasp his hands together and slam his joined hand into the man’s head.

Jeff hissed as he got up and walked over to Ben, who was panting for air as his red eyes stared at the unconscious squid-hat man. “W-what the hell was that?”

“Not sure..” Jeff mumbled and grabbed the man’s ankles and began to drag him to the mansion. “We should ask Slender.”

“Oh hell no, we’re not taking this demon possessed man with us.”

“How do you know he’s possessed?”

“Super strength, did not react to anything we said, and also did not react to pain. Shit man, he’s probably only unconscious for another minute.”

With a huff, the pale killer carelessly dropped the man’s legs and rolled his eyes. “Fine we’ll just let Slen-derp probe our minds for the story.”

Ben walked past him in the direction of the mansion and sneered. “Stop being such a weak bitch, it doesn’t hurt that much.”

“Said the little elf boy that freaks out over a drop of water.” Jeff smirked, getting an immediate reaction from Ben.

“I’m not an elf!”

“Well those ears aren’t human ears.”

“Fuck you Jeff!”

“Not even if you paid me midget.”

“I’m in a kid's body? What about you, emo-edgy man with daddy issues.”

Jeff seethed at that and growled. “When we get home I’m throwing you to Smile dog.”

With a laugh, the blonde picked up his speed and levitated a bit. “Right, see how well that works out for you man.”

On the south end of the forest, Masky and Toby were fixing one of the cameras that was having some connection problems, except Toby was standing watch while Masky took care of the frustrating device. Several cameras have gone “missing” or “accidentally” trashed when Toby would take care of them, it was just better for everyone if someone else went with him. Finishing with the camera the masked man jumped down and patted his hands together to brush off the invisible dust. “Alright, that should do it.”

“Finally! I was dying!” Toby groaned and stretched his arms out. 

The two started walking back to the manor as Masky huffed, taking out a cigarette and grumbling. “You didn’t have to come, you know why we don’t let you mess with the cameras.”

“What? It’s not like I do anything to them.”

“Oh really? What happened to camera 8? That “magically” ended up in the stream.” Masky growled and set the cigarette between his lips, lighting it with his zippo.

“I told you it must have been an angry squirrel.”

“And camera 19?”

“Kids must have thrown a rock at it.”

“Cut the bull shit Toby-”

“Masked-bitch,” Toby raised his voice and glared at him. “I didn’t do anything to those cameras, I don’t know why it keeps happening only to me but I’m not doing shit.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it-”

Before either could react, a large scaly creature charged at them and skidded to a stop before whipping its tail around to slam their bodies into the nearby thicket. Masky groaned in pain as he got back up but Toby, unable to feel his pain, stood up quickly and blinked in surprise at the creature before them. It was about two meters long for the body with an extra few feet for the tail, with sharp jagged black scales that were ill-assorted and hardly covered the meaty red surface of the beast. It’s body was almost reptilian like, resembling closely to a crocodile and komodo dragon but deformed and pussing with blood from the flesh that could be seen, long claws dug into the earth as it began to walk closer.

A grin grew on the younger proxies face as he drew the hatchets from his belt and spun them in his hands. “Start up the barbeque, we’re having lizard tonight!”

The lizard-like monster roared and ran at Toby, it’s large claws from it’s right hand swiped at the agile man but was too late for the claws to pierce his body as they slashed at the air. Toby laughed in a taunting manner when he jumped back in time, only to run forward and slammed the sharp hatchets onto it’s head only to be met with recoil when the blades created sparks and a sharp clank. Enraged the unknown monster stood up on it’s hind legs and wobbled a bit as it stepped forward and swiped at him with both of its hands. Watching with caution and trying to not back himself into a corner, Toby continued to step or leap back and smirked as he ducked under its body and between its legs.

Masky was up onto his feet and retrieved his semi-auto pistol from his jacket pocket and fired at the monster’s head, three of the five bullets lodged right into its red flesh and made the two meter tall creature fall over onto its side. It yowled in pain and sporadically moved around to rub its injured head into the grass, Toby strutted over and raised one hatchet over his head before striking it down on the wriggling creature's exposed neck. The chestnut haired man continued to aim at the same cut until it stopped completely and looked at Masky with a triumphant grin. 

“Hey! High-five man!”

“Toby!” Masky shouted, halting the younger one’s cheer. “For fuck sakes man you’re bleeding!”

“I am? Where?” Toby asked with real confusion and looked over his front, the masked man scowled under his mask and twisted him around to examine the back that had one long scratch crossing from one side to the other.

“Here dumbass, it got your back. How the fuck do you not feel anything?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never felt pain.” Toby shrugged with disinterest.

A tired and agitated sigh left the older one, his eyes glancing over at the corpse of the beast and then replied. “Come on, let’s get you home before you pass out from blood loss.”

The two walked side by side and Toby chuckled as Masky took out a new cigarette after losing his other one. “Would you carry me if I did?”

“No, I’d drag you home by your foot and let it get infected.” 

At the mansion concerns were being raised to Slender by several of the inhabitants, worry of attacks, monsters, demons, even people who could be possessed. Clockwork’s teeth grit together and she finally growled out. “Someone or something is trying to kill all of us! Jeff! You said you and Ben were attacked by a fucking possessed or demon man right?”

“Yes! I thought I made that clear!” Jeff snarled back.

“Then there was Nina and Puppeteer, both on opposite sides of the city and attacked by humans that showed zombie-like tendencies.”

“For the record, it was not my fault for once.” Puppeteer called out with his hand raised as he floated above the rest.

Nina whined as she touched the bruise on her cheek. “I shouldn’t have gone out today..”

Clockwork continued her rant. “And! Hobo Heart was attacked again by something in the woods.”

Eyes and heads turned to the usually quiet CP, the winged man had his left wing wrapped up and stained red from his encounter. “I was attacked by something inhuman. For me it was a bat creature but misshapen.”

“Slender there has to be someone behind it, and you know this.” Clockwork finally turned to the tall figure that loomed over everyone.

“I understand the concern but there is not much we can do, without evidence we have no idea who is attacking.” Slender replied, but his mind whirled with knowledge and anger, he knew who was responsible and knew he was losing control of the situation faster than he intended.

“Is there anyone still out?” EJ questioned out, looking around. “Where’s Toby and Masky?”

The door swung open with Masky helping Toby into the mansion, one of the proxy’s arms around his shoulder. “Here! Now someone get this idiot off me and to Dr.Smiley.”

“Ha! I knew you wouldn't leave me behind!” Toby cackled and Candypop helped Toby off of Masky, helping the loud proxy to the basement.

Papa Grande was sitting in the middle of the staircase, counting the CP’s and asked. “We are still missing a few others..”

“Well Bloody painter is getting new blood,” Puppeteer piped up. “I remember seeing LJ phase through a portal, Nick went to steal drugs, Oliver is haunting kids on the coast, and then Sally was playing in the forest.”

“Do you always have to spy on peoples lives?” Jane huffed at the phantom, only getting a smile from him.

“I’m dead princess! Not much to do but spy on people. Why do you think ghosts stick around after they pass?”

“Because of loved ones?”

“Ha! You wish!” Puppeteer laughed before muttering to himself. “Dumb broad..”

“What did you say!?”

“Jane! Grab his legs!” Zero smirked and assisted Jane in trying to catch the fleeing ghost.

Hoodie spoke up to everyone from that point. “Well we should contact all of them and get them home-”

A scream interrupted the hooded man, a young and distant scream that was recognizable to everyone. Now Slender felt dread, an icy feeling he never felt before in his body. “Sally..”

Sonic EXE took to his feet and sped outside with the other animal-creatures like Rake and Seedeater, but Slender teleported around in hopes to find the young girl. However after the first scream another had not followed, those that ran out to search for her were beyond fearful for her life and determined to locate the person responsible for the scream. Slender had finally picked up a brainwave and teleported once more to see Sally in the arms of a stranger, said stranger was standing over a dead demon with its own horns ripped off and wings tattered. The guts of the demon poured onto the ground from one large gash to the stomach from the man’s scythe. Green eyes looked to Slender, the poor orbs filled with tears as she held out her arms and cried out for Slender with a sob.

The tall man took her instantly into his arms and held her close to let her hide in his shoulder, yet he was still on guard for the man before him. “I know you from somewhere..”

“I believe your council mentioned I would be coming.” Said the man with a raspy voice from behind the bloody bandages that encircled his mouth and a good majority of his face.

Before him stood G.R.A.E, a creepypasta the Council said would help him confront Zalgo, a powerful man with the ability to temporarily stop and start time itself. The man was better known for being a reaper of souls. His greyish skin was accompanied with veins of black that was originating from his left red eye, his right eye concealed with his platinum blonde hair, and he wore a black cloak over his dark suit. A grey vest was only a small change in color and paled to the gold cufflinks on his sleeves and a gold chain looping from his pocket to the clip that hung on the vest, and a red tie hung snuggly around his neck and was tucked neatly into the suit to finish off the look.

“What happened here?” Slender questioned as his head turned to the demon.

“Unfortunately, Zalgo’s lust has grown stronger since he infused himself. He has sent many monsters out to hunt your people.”

“But why? We are no threat to him..”

“You have more than 50 imbalanced people living under your care, who listen to what you say, you don’t think that sounds threatening?”

“I’ll have you know, they don’t listen to me that much.”

“The point is, these demons are trying to eliminate the threat, you need to establish that this is your forest before things get worse.” G.R.A.E replied and looked at Sally. “For you and your people.”

Sally looked up at Slender and uncharacteristically let out a growl. “Beat him up Slendy.”

If Slender had eyes at this moment they would be wide with shock, but the notion was enough to make him nod and shook hands with G.R.A.E. “I hope you will assist me.”

“Of course, we should leave immediately, or once you get her home and calm your friends.”

“Oh shoot!” Slender hissed then mentally reached out to everyone to let them know Sally was alright and to head back to the mansion.

It was not long before Slender had passed Sally off to Splendor and turned to meet G.R.A.E outside, the strong CP had claimed to not be fond of crowds and opted to stay outside. Splendor’s hand latched onto Slender’s shoulder before he could leave and said. “Slender, I don’t feel like you should be going there alone..”

“Splendor I am not alone, please just focus on the CP’s. I should be back in no time.” Slender sighed before walking off again, meeting with G.R.A.E who was leaning against a tree.

“Ready Slender?”

“More than ready, Zalgo has crossed me one too many times..”

The two walked together to Zalgo’s territory, the man asking with a quirked brow. “May I ask why you’ve never fought with him before everything went to shit?”

“Well despite everything he’s done there were always two sides to the story, I know he’s a demon and it’s in his nature to be..well evil. But in the end he is no different from me, just another soul that was casted into a world of never ending suffering. So in a way I guess I’ve just overlooked everything to keep the peace..”

“I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that you sound like you’re in an abusive relationship, or that you sound like a mother.”

Slender growled at that statement. “Go to hell, my point is that Zalgo is a pain but he’s still a friend..But I’ve never seen him so crazy before..”

“I can tell you why, he’s learned the power of gems and relics from around the world, even spirits that are thought to be gone. And before you ask, I don’t mean just ghosts, but sprites and other creatures that possess power.” He explained and looked up at the tall man, instantly regretting it when his neck felt a twinge of pain. “Anyways, he’s getting stronger.”

“I don’t care what he has so long as he does not hurt anyone that is under my care, wait how do you know all this? And for that matter, why didn’t you handle this before me?”

“Slender I’m a busy man, I’ve got people to kill and others to write in my hundreds of books, a good handful of women won’t stop getting pregnant and some men are to stupid to not use protection.”

“...Do you need to talk?”

“I don’t want to talk about my problems..” He huffed before reaching the forest and watching as the Creature bounded towards them before stopping.

“Slender, it has been a while.” Creature hissed out and then looked to G.R.A.E. “Who is he?”

“A friend, Creature it is important I see Zalgo right now.” Slender replied with no hesitation, Creature nodding and began to walk through the woods.

It did not take long for the three to arrive at the portal, only Creature stayed behind as the other two walked through and marched up to Zalgo’s castle. The realm was filled with creatures and dead humans, and the castle was more lively than ever, even Zalgo was on his throne with a mad grin. Demons parted for Slender and G.R.A.E when the two made their way to the tall demon, the great demon stood and waved his hands to signal the other demons to leave. Once the hall was empty besides the three, he stepped down from the throne.

“Slender, what a surprise~”

The pale man took note of the pulsating skin that connected with the red gem on Zalgo’s chest. “Zalgo we need to have a word, your actions have been-”

“Now Slender don’t be so moody, come have some of the souls I had collected in my last hunt.” Zalgo insisted, Slender looked to G.R.A.E and the two knew fairly quickly they would be here for the long haul.


End file.
